The Bird Man

So this morning i was reading an article in class about how birds are the cause of many flight crashes. Serious stuff, until i see this picture:

THERE ACTUALLY IS A BIRDMAN

And i quote:

A large part of its strategy for warding off feathered friends is employing a birdman.

Jim Birt, a soft-spoken man with an easy laugh, has been scaring birds away from the tarmac for 25 years. "And they haven't learned. They still come back," he jokes.

He makes his rounds at the airport in a yellow truck emblazoned with the word "Birdman" in thick, black letters, and outfitted with a laptop computer and air traffic control dispatch system. When he spots a flock of birds, he notifies the air traffic controllers — and vice versa.

Among Birt's weapons of choice is a black handgun he calls a "banger," which sounds much like its name, and a hand-held device that emits a sound like a bird being strangled.

"It makes them take off pretty quick," says Birt. "They move when they hear the banging and screaming going on. It does definitely shake them up."

==> http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2009/05/13/bird-strikes-airports.html


This article has made me hate geese even more. First, they crap all over campus and now they kill people by getting stuck in engines. What dimwitted creatures. Canada, you really need to reevaluate the symbols of your country.