Bird controller of Schiphol airport.
Bird Controllers are incredibly important for an airport like Schiphol. In case of a collision between aircraft and bird, also known as a bird strike, an aircraft has to be landed again and examined completely. This causes considerable delays and extra costs. Larger birds, such as a gull or goose, may even require the engine to be taken apart.
Bird Controllers have several methods to detect and chase away birds. These include using a radar that detects all birds flying within a ten-kilometre radius. In addition, the Bird Controllers have a lot of knowledge and experience regarding, for example, bird migration and know the places on and around the airport where birds like to stay.
Methods to scare away the birds include a signal gun, shining a green laser or playing bird sounds. For example, they can play a cry of fear from as many as 42 bird species, which will startle the birds and make them fly away from the runway.
This picture was taken along Schiphol Airport's Polder Runway on 1 March 2025.
I am Jaap van den Berg and photography has become a great passion of mine since 2010. Since then I travel all over the world to take pictures of military aircrafts. But besides aircraft I also love to photograph other subjects like landscapes, architecture, flowers, animals, .. Read more…