The interesting point is in the title of the paper (actually a great
title, a sort of mini abstract): "Migratory Canada geese cause crash
of US Airways Flight 1549"

Migratory ... not the local hangers-on.

Abstract

In the United States alone, over 7400 bird?aircraft collisions
(birdstrikes) were reported in 2007. Most of these strikes occurred
during takeoff or landing of the flight, and it is during these
flight phases that aircraft experience their highest risk of
substantial damage after colliding with birds. Birdstrikes carry
enormous potential costs in terms of lives and money. Using feather
remains and other tissue samples collected from the engines of US
Airways Flight 1549, which crash landed in the Hudson River in New
York City on 15 January 2009 after a birdstrike, we apply molecular
tools and stable hydrogen isotopes to demonstrate that migratory
Canada geese were responsible for the crash. Determining whether the
geese involved in this birdstrike event were resident or migratory is
essential to the development of management techniques that could
reduce the risk of future collisions. Currently, the US civil
aviation industry is not required to report birdstrikes, yet
information on frequency, timing, and species involved, as well as
the geographic origin of the birds, is critical to reducing the
number of birdstrikes. Integrating this information with bird
migration patterns, bird-detecting radar, and bird dispersal programs
at airports can minimize the risk of such collisions in the future.

This makes it a more interesting issue than just the usual "get rid
of the birds hanging around the airport" which is the frst order
response to bird strikes.

I'd love to read the paper but unfortunately this paper is not free :-(

And Peter Marra's home site

http://nationalzoo.si.edu/ConservationAndScience/Scientific_Staff/
staff_scientists.cfm?id=120

<http://nationalzoo.si.edu/ConservationAndScience/Scientific_Staff/
staff_scientists.cfm?id=120>

doesn't have preprints either (and hasn't been updated with this
paper yet).

http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Publications/ScientificPublications/
search.cfm?SearchFor=Marra,%20P.&Modifier1=1&HL=on&OB=1&submit=submit

<http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Publications/ScientificPublications/
search.cfm?SearchFor=Marra,%20P.&Modifier1=1&HL=on&OB=1&submit=submit>

Bummer.

On Jun 8, 2009, at 9:46 AM, Ian Paulsen wrote:

> HI:
> Saw this this morning about the canada geese that hit the US Airways
> flight back in January:
>
> http://www.esajournals.org/doi/abs/10.1890/090066
>
> --
>
> Ian Paulsen
> Bainbridge Island, WA, USA
> " Which just goes to show that a
> passion for books is extremely unhealthy."
> from Cornelia Funke's "Inkheart".
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--
Kevin Purcell
kevinpurcell at pobox.com