Yep..sucking birds (or anything) into the intake of a jet engine can cause serious damage. I remember being on the flight deck of a carrier back in the day when something got into the intake of one of our helos. Quite a light show it caused.

That's why we had to do FOD (Foreign Object Damage) walk-downs twice a day and pick up anything that wasn't bolted down.

The Portland International Airport uses propane cannons and green lasers to drive away and deter birds. The green lasers don't harm the birds. It just confuses them because the birds think that they're about to hit something.

At least, that's how I understand it.