On June 28, the renovated Eagle House in the flight area of Beijing Capital International Airport was occupied by several special "bird drivers".
The airport is the home of the aircraft, why build the Eagle House? The reporter learned from Sui Guohui, a bird strike prevention technician in the flight area of the capital airport, that these eagle houses were specially built for their "bird repellent experts" - chestnut-winged eagles (Harris eagles), falcons, sparrowhawks, and goshawks.
For many years, major airports have been plagued by bird attacks, and bird strikes are also a common problem faced by the aviation industry around the world, and the International Aviation Federation has upgraded bird strikes to Class A aviation disasters. Capital Airport is the first in China to adopt the "bird of prey" method - the use of well-trained falcons to effectively drive birds over the airport.
At the beginning of 2019, the capital airport introduced four falcons to serve as "bird repellents". After more than a year of training and actual combat, their "combat effectiveness" has been greatly improved, and their stay in the "collective dormitory" in the flight area is for them to carry out bird repellent work in a more convenient and timely manner.
Patrol Eagle + Killer Eagle "routine" bird repellent
On the lawn by the south runway of the capital airport, the falcon whistled past not far away, emitting a sharp bird song, and pounced directly on the fake bait thrown in the air by the bird repellent technician Ling Jingwei. Finding birds on the east side of the runway, the falcon saw a turn and flew eastward, and several birds not far away flew away. After hovering back and forth at a low altitude for a few times, Ling Jingwei quickly blew a whistle, and the falcon obediently flew back.
Figure | Work site
According to Ling Jingwei, this bird drive method is called "bait", whenever they find bird love, they will throw the fake bait in that direction, at which time the falcon will fly along the extension line in the direction of the fake bait. Birds will naturally avoid predators when they see them coming, which highlights the falcon's role in driving away. "Bait" is generally chosen in the absence of aircraft take-off and landing time, so that the falcon's flight range and altitude are wider.
At this time, the chestnut-winged eagle in charge of the "touring drive" had been waiting for a long time in the bird drive. Falcons change shifts and chestnut-winged eagles take up their posts.
Liu Yang, the bird-driving technician in charge of the chestnut-winged eagle, held it high above his head, and with the sound of Liu Yang's whistle, it spread its wings and flew to the technician on the opposite side of the runway. The reporter noticed that it traveled low above the runway, and the height never left the safe range. "The 'itinerant drive' method is mainly aimed at the situation of birds near the runway. We generally release eagles on the north and south sides of the airslide, which is the location of the aircraft taking off and landing at the capital airport, compared to the taxiing of the aircraft, the flight altitude of the aircraft here is higher, and the eagle will not affect the aircraft. Liu Yang said.
The Falcon itself is a source of danger for the aircraft, what if you don't listen to the instructions? For "disobedient" "bird repellents", such as the "killer eagle" - sparrowhawks, who are specifically responsible for "intimidating" stubborn flocks of birds, technicians also have a way. "When the sparrowhawk drives the bird, it must be 'hanging a string (tether)'." This method is commonly known as "running rope".
Figure | Chestnut-winged eagles prepare to "tour to drive away" birds
The working eagles that drive birds at the capital airport are mainly divided into "patrol eagles" and "killer eagles". Both chestnut-winged eagles and falcons are "patrol eagles" that work at airports without hanging lines and are primarily responsible for driving birds. "We cultivate and train them from an early age, we do not feed live animals, only feed artificially processed food, so the wild is weak and the affinity for people is relatively strong." But the 'killer eagle' of the sparrowhawk must be hung up, we need to use its fast, strong hunting nature to drive birds, but also through the line to control its flight range, so that everything is under control. Chen Jie, the bird-driving technician in charge of sparrowhawks, explained, "'Killer Eagles' are often used in conjunction with inspection eagles when their driving effect is not strong." ”
During the migration season for small birds, they fly like clouds in the flight area. In this case, the "Killer Eagle" will also be dispatched. Chen Jie said: "It is not that the larger the size of the bird, the stronger the deterrent power, and the bird repellent effect does not depend on the size of the bird of prey. For example, sparrowhawks are small birds of prey that specialize in catching finches, and clawed buntings, larks, and sparrows are more afraid to hear it than to encounter large falcons. Chen Jie looked at the sparrow eagle in his hand, and there was a bit of pride in his eyes.
Figure | Chestnut-winged eagles prepare to drive birds
With the change of bird conditions every year, the capital airport will be equipped with different eagle species to drive birds. For example, for insectivorous birds and willow warblers, they will be equipped with pine sparrow eagles, for pigeons and heron birds will be equipped with falcons, and for large magpies and spotted doves, they will be equipped with medium-sized killer eagles. Sui Guohui added that the "patrol eagle" and "killer eagle" can achieve better results when combined with bird repellent. The goal of the capital airport is to make them form a "routine" - when the role of the "patrol eagle" is not obvious, the "killer eagle" is dispatched, and the "killer eagle" is working with the whistle. The staff will record these sounds, and when the Killer Eagle is not there, the sound can play the same effect.
Everything is intangible
The first step in the falcon's work is for the bird repellent technician to take off their hats. The reporter saw at the scene that each falcon has its own exclusive leather hat, and the eagle falcon wearing the hat is completely different from the fierce and alert appearance of the working state, like a playful and cute alien creature.
Figure | Cool "bird repellent" in hat
A closer look at the leather cap reveals that all the threads are hidden on the inside of the hat, with a raised thread at the top of the hat and an elastic band that controls the size of the hat at the rear.
"The stitches are hidden inside to prevent the eagle's claw from being hooked by the thread, and the thread at the top is convenient for us to take off the hat." "Each eagle has its own leather hat, and some even have more than one. These hats are handmade by non-hereditary heirs, and craftsmen often have to make multiple hats for eagles to try on, until the eagle does not have an uncomfortable reaction, which is considered successful. ”
This small hat is of great significance to the falcon with superior vision. Since eagles hunt during the day and rest at night, the hat is worn to simulate a dark environment and help them quiet down quickly.
Figure | At the end of the work, the falcon resting in a hat drinks water
In addition to the small leather hat, which is an intangible handicraft, the "running rope" to drive birds is also a rope-picking tool - "picking the nest". When the "Killer Eagle" works, the bird-driving technician wears the "nest picking" on the wrist like a watch, one end is fixed to the belt, and the other end is tied to the eagle's ankle. When the eagle is released, the bird repellent technician pulls out the middle stick, and the eagle gives a little force, and the line will fly out.
The "nest picking" line is nearly 50 meters long and consists of a "release line" and a "police line". The front part of the "release line" is the kite line, also called the tire line. According to Chen Jie, this kind of line is not easy to buckle, can reduce the resistance of the sparrowhawk to fly out; the latter part of the "police line" is cotton thread, when the line is about to be placed at the "police line", he will tighten the line to remind the sparrowhawk to return. "We will never let the 'Killer Eagle' get out of control, which is also the iron law set for us by the capital airport."
Figure | Pick the nest
"Left lead yellow, right Qingcang, brocade hat mink, thousand riding roll Hiraoka." Since ancient times, eagle falcon culture has been part of China's traditional culture. On May 23, 2011, the State Council approved the custom of falconry to be included in the third batch of national tangible cultural heritage list. Today, the falcon bird repellent technology used in the airport is also the inheritance and development of the falcon culture.
In fact, this method of bird repellent is not uncommon in foreign airports. In the late 1960s, there were successful cases of domestication of falcons and birds at Canadian Air Force airports, with a success rate of 96%. Compared with traditional bird repellent methods such as shotguns, bird cannons, and bird cages, falcon bird repellent technology is more environmentally friendly and efficient. With the entry of falcon bird repellent technology into the domestic civil aviation field, the eagle falcon culture that keeps pace with the times has also gained more attention.
"Indigenous people" become "full-time employees" of the capital airport
Looking through the small window of the square of the eagle house, you can see the eagle falcon's claws on the pole tightly hooked the hemp rope, and it is closing its eyes and recuperating. The roof exposes a third of the ventilation openings, allowing the room to be half illuminated by natural light and half comfortable and shady; the white tile wall behind the pole makes it easy for the staff to clean up the feces; the ground is densely paved with pebbles, and there is a drain below. Such a design can make the room ventilated up and down, keep the house dry, to prevent the growth of bacteria. In addition to the 8 rooms dedicated to falcons, the Eagle House is equipped with an operation room for processing ingredients and a room for bird repellent technicians on duty.
Figure | Eagle House
The so-called "early birds have insects to eat", before sunrise in the summer to about 7 o'clock is the peak time of bird activity, so the current stage of bird repellent work is mainly concentrated around 7 o'clock. "In the past, it took a lot of time to get from the residence to the airport, and traffic jams could cause us to miss the golden hour for bird drives. The construction of the eagle house perfectly solved this problem, which not only facilitated the bird repellent work, but also reduced the fatigue of the falcon's boats. "Now after living in the eagle house, we can take the eagle out at 5:30 in the morning to drive the birds." The weather is cool in the morning and the eagles are comfortable. And there weren't any flights at this time. ”
Ling Jingwei admitted that in the early days of the work, Eagle Falcon was not familiar with the airport environment, and could not help but be frightened by the huge engine sound of the aircraft engine. If the falcon can live in the airport for a long time and is familiar with the working environment, it is good for both the falcon and the bird driving work at the airport.
Figure | A spirited chestnut-winged eagle
Recently, the Eagle Research Institute successfully bred the first batch of chestnut-winged eagle chicks through artificial breeding technology. This is the first batch of chestnut-winged eagles in China to obtain legal breeding and domestication license qualifications on the basis of legal breeding sources. It is understood that the 3 pairs of chestnut-winged eagles selected by the Eagle Research Institute were all successfully paired, and a total of 13 fertilized eggs (eagle eggs) were laid, and 7 eagle chicks have been hatched. They will select some of the hatched eagle chicks to serve the capital airport. With the Eagle House, they will not only be "full-time employees" of the airport, but also the "indigenous people" of the airport.
Reporter Liu Yueyu Correspondent Zhu Fangjie
Video production by Zhuang Yan Yan