[Greenpointer]

This is from that birdstrike site.

The likelihood of these three hazards can be roughly
estimated from the following information:
Fatal and non-fatal worldwide hull losses since 1959 (five total, one fatal),
Total jet transport flights since 1959 (about 300 million),
Estimated U.S. and Canadian large commercial jet transport flights 1999-2008, (80 million),
Average load factor of 54% (60% for airliners, 0% for cargo jet transports, 10% cargo flights),
Average passenger capacity (130),
Probability a passenger dies in a fatal bird strike accident (0.5),
and Cost of average jet transport (30 million 1997 dollars).
Assuming that the historical world hull loss rate is
roughly current underlying rate in the U.S. and Canada,
P(Hull Loss From a Bird Strike Event) = 5/300M = 1.67 x 10-8
P(Fatal | Hull Loss) = 0.2
P(Fatal Hull Loss Event) = 3.3 x 10-9
P(Fatal Hull Loss Event in U.S. or Canada) = (3.3 x 10-9)(8 x 10+6) = 0.027/yr

Assuming a binomial distribution of events, this would imply that over the next decade,
P(Zero Fatal Hull Losses) = 0.763
P(One Fatal Hull Loss) = 0.209
P(Two Fatal Hull Losses) = 0.026
P(Three Fatal Hull Losses) = 0.001
Estimated Fatal Hull Losses = 0.209 + 2(0.026) + 3(0.001) = 0.263

Note: This last figure means that in the next 10 years there is about a 25% chance of a fatal bird strike accident involving a large jet transport in the U.S. or Canada.

[palmer]

This study states that the National Park Service has had a laughing gull nesting program in the park adjacent to the airport. The gull population went from 15 pairs in 1979 to approximately 5-6,000 in 1996. Over those years 1129 of those gulls struck airplanes: "These strikes resulted in 10 incidents that caused damage or delay to aircraft. Of the 10 incidents since 1979, 4 involved damage to at least one engine."

Your tax dollars at work.