Skip to main content Skip to navigation
Home
Today's Show: The Vulture's Iron Stomach
Black Vulture
Listen In
  • Today's Show
  • Listen
    • Daily Shows
    • Threatened
    • Grouse
    • BirdNote Presents
    • How to Listen
  • Explore
    • Field Notes
    • Sights & Sounds
    • Birdwatching
    • Resources for Educators
  • How to Help Birds
    • At Home
    • In Your Community
    • Success Stories
  • About
    • The BirdNote Story
    • The Team
    • Partners
    • For Radio Stations
    • Funding
    • Contact Us
    • FAQs
    • Support BirdNote
  • Donate

Birds and Robots

This robot protects birds and people at airports
Subscribe to the Podcast
Download
  • Share This:
  • Share to Facebook
  • Share to Twitter
  • Share to Email
Robot bird
© Clear Flight Solutions

One of the things airplane pilots worry about most is birds colliding with their planes, possibly causing an accident. Preventing bird strikes is a serious concern. Many airports resort to killing birds that might pose a threat. But the airport in Edmonton, Alberta, has found a more humane solution: they fly a robotic Peregrine Falcon over the grounds to scare off problem birds.

  • Full Transcript
  • Credits

BirdNote®

Birds and Robots

Written by Bob Sundstrom

[Peregrine Falcon call https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/136378 ]

This is BirdNote.

[Sea-Tac Airport ambient]

One of the things airplane pilots worry about the most is birds colliding with their planes.

Many airports resort to killing birds that might pose a threat. But the airport in Edmonton, Alberta, in Canada, has found a more humane solution. They fly a Peregrine Falcon over the grounds to chase off problem birds.

[Peregrine Falcon call https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/136378 ]

But this isn’t just any Peregrine Falcon. It’s a robot falcon. And it flies just like the real thing.

Peregrine Falcons have sometimes been put to work chasing off wild birds. But live raptors require lots of training and continual care, and they have minds of their own. The robotic falcon, on the other hand, is under the direct control of an operator, who can target problem birds with precision.

It took a Dutch engineering company years to create a robotic falcon that flies on wing power alone. They needed to work out how to replicate the Peregrine’s rapid, intimidating wing stroke, which frightens other birds.

They call their creation Robird.

And if a robotic falcon wasn’t intimidating enough, the inventors have added a much bigger version of Robird. To scare off large birds like geese from a runway, there is now a robotic Bald Eagle.

[Bald Eagle calls, https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/137879 ]

For BirdNote, I’m Michael Stein.

Support comes from Sasquatch Books, announcing BirdNote, the Book. Full of chirps, quirks, and stories of 100 birds. More at SasquatchBooks.com.


###
Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Recorded by Michael Andersen and Gerrit Vyn. Location audio recorded by BirdNote’s John Kessler.
BirdNote’s theme music was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
Producer: John Kessler
Managing Producer: Jason Saul
Associate Producer: Ellen Blackstone
© 2018 Tune In to Nature.org   August 2018/2019   Narrator: Michael Stein
 
ID# robot-01-2018-08-16  robot-01

Bob Sundstrom
Writer
Michael Stein
Narrator
Support More Shows Like This
TagsCanada human interaction

Related Resources

Robotic raptors look and fly like the real thing Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's ROBIRDIt’s a Bird! It’s a Plane! It’s… a New Seagull-Like Robot Spy Drone! More video of Robotic Hawks

Related Field Notes

March 10, 2016

A Tale of Hummingbird Etiquette

By Beth Surdut
Artist and writer Beth Surdut listens to ravens and has paddled with alligators in wild and s
September 22, 2014

Biking Thousands of Miles ... for Birds

By Adam Sedgley
 11,500

Birds connect us with the joy and wonder of nature. By telling vivid, sound-rich stories about birds and the challenges they face, BirdNote inspires listeners to care about the natural world – and take steps to protect it.

Support BirdNote

  • Daily Shows
  • Field Notes
  • BirdNote Presents
  • Sights & Sounds
  • About BirdNote
  • Contact BirdNote
Sign up for our newsletter!
  • BirdNote on Facebook
  • BirdNote on Twitter
  • BirdNote on Instagram

Copyright 2021. All rights reserved.

  • Privacy Policy