Whitehorse airport installs noisy 'scare cannons' to keep birds away

Birds can be an "enormous threat" to aircraft, said one Yukon official. That's why the Whitehorse airport is now trying to frighten birds away from the runways with scare cannons.

'We're still getting use to them, but they seem to be very effective so far,' says official

Andrew Hynes · CBC News · Posted: Jun 13, 2025 4:28 PM EDT | Last Updated: June 13

A man in a safety vest stands with a piece of equipment in a cage, on an airfield. — Ryan MacKinnon, with the Yukon's department of Highway and Public Works, stands with a scare cannon at the Whitehorse airport. (Submitted by Ryan MacKinnon)

Ryan MacKinnon scanned a patch of brush from a truck parked inside the airfield at Whitehorse's Erik Nielsen International Airport.

"Is that a bird or a gopher?" MacKinnon asked as he spotted something. "It's probably a gopher."

Observations like these play an important safety role at airports. According to MacKinnon, who's with the territorial government's aviation branch, wildlife are a major factor in aircraft safety at an airport — and birds are a particular concern.

That's why the airport has installed new devices to help deter wildlife from entering the airfield: scare cannons.

"We're still getting use to them, but they seem to be very effective so far," MacKinnon said.

Despite the name, the scare cannons do not fire any projectiles. Instead, they use propane and a battery to ignite a series of three loud booms, every 30 minutes between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. The goal is to reduce the number of birds on the runways.

A machine and propane tank in a cage. — The cannons, which do not fire projectiles, use propane and a battery to ignite a series of loud booms intended to scare birds away from the airport runways. (Ryan MacKinnon)

"Birds truly are an enormous threat to aircrafts," he said.

"One reference I like to point to is the Tom Hanks movie, called Sully, where an U.S. Airways aircraft ingested several geese and made an emergency landing in the Hudson River."

Such events are frequently called "bird strikes," and although rare, they have happened at the Whitehorse airport.

"We did have a couple of bird strikes last summer," MacKinnon said. "Fortunately, there was no major damage to the aircraft, or ingestion causing engine failure, but those types of incidents we take extremely seriously."

The scare cannons are just one tool MacKinnon and his team are using to manage wildlife in the airfield. Reflective tape, or flash tape, is placed near grassy areas of the runway to deter birds from landing. Teams also frequently inspect buildings for nests, trim grass heights, and remove any standing water.

MacKinnon said other airports even use trained dogs or falcons to control wildlife — though the Whitehorse airport isn't considering those yet. Its focus now is on the scare cannons.

"It's becoming an extremely busy airport and we just want to add more tools to assist us with wildlife and bird control," MacKinnon said.

"I'm very happy to say that so far this season, there haven't been any bird strikes."