South Burlington, Vermont - November 2, 2011
Are birds threatening the safety of flights in and out of the Burlington Airport? A recent increase in collisions between planes and birds has airport officials looking for the source, and a solution.
There may only be a few hundred birds in and around a South Burlington farm field adjacent to the airport, but normally it's filled with thousands. The farmer, who preferred not to be identified, says that in the four decades he's owned the land, there have always been birds -- a lot of them -- and that number doesn't seem to have increased. But the Burlington Airport which is nearby has seen more birds there in recent months.
"We've had species as varied as sparrows, wood thrashers, snow buntings, one seagull, some castrols -- and that's typical for the airport for this time of year," said Rick Varney, the airport's Operations Director.
The airport says birds pose serious safety issues for planes flying in and out and they've had eight bird incidents in the past month. "In the month of October most of our strikes don't have a lot of specific information, which is typical for how our operation works," Varney said. He says bird problems at airports is common and points to the Miracle on the Hudson where the plane landed in the river after hitting a flock of Canada Geese during its initial climb.
But not all bird incidents are this serious. Often the Airport just finds the remains of the birds on the runway and files an incident report. "Birds and airports are a fact of life you can't be an airport operator and not deal with birds everyday," Varney said. "What's unique about this bird hazard is it ranges outside of our perimeter fence and when that happens we call in outside resources."
The U.S. Department of Agriculture was called in for analysis and found that a combination of factors -- Saint Michaels Colleges' compost pile, the Intervale closing, and nearby flooded corn fields -- all have the birds flocking.
"It seems like this year, yeah there are more birds," said Vermont Air National Guard Lt. Col. Barent Rogers. For the Air Guard, which is also based at the airport, these gulls and other birds have them being extra cautious. "Anytime you might hit a bird, your engine is a concern, structural damage is a concern, and canopy penetration is a concern for a pilot," Lt. Col. Rogers said.
To help address bird concerns, St. Michaels has covered their compost. U.S.D.A biologists are also looking at behavioral modification methods for the birds to find somewhere else for food through noise mitigation, lights and possibly lethal methods. Despite the increased number of bird incidents, Airport officials say people should not be anymore concerned to fly in or out since birds are an issue at every airport and they have always had and always will have problems with wildlife.
