Proceedings of the Vertebrate Pest Conference

North American osprey are increasingly becoming a serious aviation safety concern to both military and civilian aircraft. Since 1985, the United States Air Force documented 25 osprey strikes with aircraft, resulting in excess of $1 million dollars in damage. In 50% of the osprey strikes reported to the National Wildlife Strike Database, the aircraft was damaged. Osprey are present from March through September at Langley Air Force Base, where more than 2 dozen nesting pairs have been identified on or immediately adjacent to the airfield. The habituated nesting and breeding behavior of osprey at Langley predisposes this species to impacting aircraft arriving or departing the airfield. The apparent strike risk and flight safety concerns associated with nesting osprey resulted in the development of an integrated hazard/damage management program. As part of the 1st Fighter Wing Bird Aircraft Strike Hazard Plan, the program incorporated a diverse management approach that included nest surveys, behavior monitoring, exclusionary practices, nest removals, egg oiling, traditional hazing, lethal reinforcement, and nestling translocation. Preliminary analysis of the project (2000-2004) suggests the number of nest sites remain constant (range 26-36) from year to year; however, airfield use by osprey has declined 62% since the inception of the program. Exclusion practices, egg oiling, and juvenile translocation are presumed to be the most effective strategies in discouraging nesting and reducing airfield occurrences. Traditional hazing and nest removals had no effect on discouraging osprey behavior or nest site preference. This program will continue to integrate and evaluate management techniques for resolving aviation and human conflicts associated with nesting osprey and may ultimately serve as a technical guide for professional wildlife damage agencies, aviation safety personnel, and natural resource managers.