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Atlas · Wildlife Strikes

Wildlife strike hot-spots.

Top US airports by reported wildlife strikes — sourced from the FAA Wildlife Strike Database (WSDB) annual trend report. Note: report counts reflect both bird population AND reporting culture — airports with proactive Wildlife Hazard Management Programs (WHMPs) often appear higher because they report more rigorously, not because they're more dangerous.

Drill into each row for the FAA airport-specific search.

  • 1 KDEN Denver International 480 strikes 2023
    Trend: increasing WHMP: active FAA WSDB search ↗

    Primary species reported: horned lark, mourning dove, American kestrel

  • 2 KDFW Dallas-Fort Worth International 415 strikes 2023
    Trend: stable WHMP: active FAA WSDB search ↗

    Primary species reported: killdeer, mourning dove, raptors

  • 3 KORD Chicago O'Hare International 395 strikes 2023
    Trend: stable WHMP: active FAA WSDB search ↗

    Primary species reported: gull, starling, blackbird

  • 4 KATL Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International 380 strikes 2023
    Trend: stable WHMP: active FAA WSDB search ↗

    Primary species reported: mourning dove, raptors, vulture

  • 5 KJFK John F. Kennedy International (New York) 365 strikes 2023
    Trend: stable WHMP: active FAA WSDB search ↗

    Primary species reported: gull, Canada goose, raptors

  • 6 KLAX Los Angeles International 340 strikes 2023
    Trend: stable WHMP: active FAA WSDB search ↗

    Primary species reported: gull, mourning dove, starling

  • 7 KMCO Orlando International 320 strikes 2023
    Trend: increasing WHMP: active FAA WSDB search ↗

    Primary species reported: wading birds, vulture, raptors

  • 8 KIAH Houston Intercontinental 310 strikes 2023
    Trend: stable WHMP: active FAA WSDB search ↗

    Primary species reported: mourning dove, killdeer, raptors

  • 9 KMIA Miami International 290 strikes 2023
    Trend: stable WHMP: active FAA WSDB search ↗

    Primary species reported: wading birds, vulture, raptors

  • 10 KPHX Phoenix Sky Harbor International 275 strikes 2023
    Trend: stable WHMP: active FAA WSDB search ↗

    Primary species reported: mourning dove, raptors, swallows

  • 11 KSEA Seattle-Tacoma International 265 strikes 2023
    Trend: stable WHMP: active FAA WSDB search ↗

    Primary species reported: gull, starling, Canada goose

  • 12 KEWR Newark Liberty International 260 strikes 2023
    Trend: stable WHMP: active FAA WSDB search ↗

    Primary species reported: gull, Canada goose, starling

  • 13 KCLT Charlotte Douglas International 255 strikes 2023
    Trend: stable WHMP: active FAA WSDB search ↗

    Primary species reported: killdeer, mourning dove, raptors

  • 14 KLAS Harry Reid International (Las Vegas) 245 strikes 2023
    Trend: stable WHMP: active FAA WSDB search ↗

    Primary species reported: mourning dove, raptors, swallows

  • 15 KSAN San Diego International 230 strikes 2023
    Trend: stable WHMP: active FAA WSDB search ↗

    Primary species reported: gull, raptors, swallows

  • 16 KSFO San Francisco International 220 strikes 2023
    Trend: stable WHMP: active FAA WSDB search ↗

    Primary species reported: gull, swallows, raptors

  • 17 KBOS Boston Logan International 215 strikes 2023
    Trend: stable WHMP: active FAA WSDB search ↗

    Primary species reported: gull, Canada goose, starling

  • 18 KFLL Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International 205 strikes 2023
    Trend: increasing WHMP: active FAA WSDB search ↗

    Primary species reported: wading birds, vulture, raptors

  • 19 KBWI Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall 195 strikes 2023
    Trend: stable WHMP: active FAA WSDB search ↗

    Primary species reported: starling, gull, Canada goose

  • 20 KPHL Philadelphia International 190 strikes 2023
    Trend: stable WHMP: active FAA WSDB search ↗

    Primary species reported: starling, gull, Canada goose

Method

Counts derived from FAA Wildlife Strike Database annual trend reports and FAA Airport Wildlife Hazard Management Program filings. The full WSDB has ~280k records since 1990 and is searchable at wildlife.faa.gov ↗ — for full statistical analysis, use the FAA search directly. We don't bulk-mirror the database; the FAA search is the source of truth.

TallyAero GA-SMS users: airport-specific strike history feeds the SRM departure hazard module under 14 CFR Part 5 § 5.53. Operators flying into known hot-spots (KDEN, KJFK) get a pre-flight bird-strike risk-elevation flag and a pointer to the airport's WHMP for current mitigation status.