Effectiveness of Gas Cannons on the Bird Community at Sydney Airport

Bird control takes many forms and can include the use of gas cannons to scare birds away from noncompatible land uses such as airports. Birds Australia designed and implemented this study to assess the effectiveness of the Gas Cannon as a bird deterrent at Sydney Airport. The cannons were used in two ways: statically (set up at one location) and opportunistically (transported to a particular location in response to bird events, such as birds congregating on runways). Effectiveness was measured quantitatively during the static trial by comparing the number of birds in the vicinity of the cannons, during pre-treatment and post-treatment periods, with the number of birds during the treatment period (when the gas cannons were detonated). The study revealed characteristics about the local bird community including; species composition, abundance, behaviour, number and direction of the bird movements at dawn. The results indicate that the cannons were effective in reducing the number of bird movements in the study area and modifying the behaviour of birds in flight, particularly influencing the direction of bird movements