Bird kites: New tool to bolster BASH program

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Justine Rho
  • 100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs Office
RAF MILDENHALL, England – It takes coordination from all base units to support the flying missions on RAF Mildenhall, and safety is an operational priority of that mission. Maintaining a safety program requires dedication and innovative thinking, such as looking to the local community for means of mitigating birds on the flightline.

Team Mildenhall’s 100th Air Refueling Wing Safety Office teamed up with the Bird Air Strike Hazard Program to incorporate the use of bird kites.

The BASH Program is dedicated to moderating the number of native bird species and other wildlife on the flight line, while also being environmentally mindful. Bird strikes can cause damage to aircraft and jeopardize personnel safety, so preventing potential hazards is critical.

“As we have seen, especially over recent years, birds can be very dangerous to aircraft,” said Capt. Benjamin Martin, 100th Operations Group training officer, previously the 100th ARW Safety Office chief of flight safety. “We have to continue to think of new ways to deter them in order to keep them as far away from the aircraft as possible while still respecting the environment. It’s a constant battle, but one that we cannot fail.”

Innovative thinking initiated the progress of multiple agencies to supplement and develop the program.

“The idea [to use bird kites] came via a request from the BASH program managers, Loomacres Wildlife Management Cell contractors,” Martin said. “It’s a technique that is used in farms all around England, even on farms right off base.”

It took a certain level of expertise to assess that previous methods were no longer as effective and to propose methods to amend the deficiencies.

“Most of the common bird dispersal techniques have been overused on the base and have lost effectiveness,” said Michael Grant, Loomacres Wildlife Management Cell senior wildlife biologist. “Due to this, we have been seeking new, or less used, techniques for mitigation. As these are identified, we will continue to implement more.”

Grant, a master-class falconer, explained the procedural steps and studies that went into incorporating a new initiative in the BASH program plan.

“An internal research study is implemented to determine historical effectiveness. Based on the results, an internal standard operating procedure is developed for [the bird kite’s] use,” Grant explained. “Then a formal request is made to use the tool or equipment, based on the SOP. Meetings are then held to discuss location, frequency of use, safety mitigation practices, and all other relevant practices with wing safety and other interested parties. From there, wing safety takes it through the approval process and issues a statement of approved use.”

The BASH program’s mission is constantly evolving to counter the environment’s natural tendencies, which is why the program utilizes multiple tools and procedures to adapt and supplement the current program.

“The kite is just one tool of many – no one tool is a fix all for the bird mitigation,” Grant explained. “Nor will any tool, on its own, ever guarantee that all birds are absent from any location. However, we will continue to seek means to reduce these risk by using whatever methods are available to us.”

The unit’s efforts and expertise has set a benchmark that could be utilized on other flight lines around the world.

“We are the only base in U.S. Air Forces in Europe that is implementing (the bird kites),” Martin said. “We are putting together a study on how effective they can be.”