On Mon, 7 Nov 2005 12:31:56 -0500, "John Gaquin"
wrote:



You can be cautious, and try to avoid or observe areas with known bird
problems, but in my opinion, unless you are well trained and skilled at
judging relative speed and motion of two moving bodies, trying to take
evasive action can be more dangerous than the strike itself.

I agree - I'm always amazed at how difficult it is to judge closing
speeds and relative positions with soaring hawks - they change
direction and altitude so quickly with no visual clues.

However, you probably can't depend on the bird to take appropriate
evasive action. Birds evolved flying skills and maneuvers that didn't
have to deal with anything like an airplane. Kind of like hitting a
mammal with your car - you can't really expect that the
deer/raccoon/skunk etc. will be smart enough to avoid your 60 MPH
vehicle. I suspect the reason number of bird strikes is so low is
mainly because the big sky theory is at work to protect us 99.9% of
the time.


Michael