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Bowers Field Wildlife Hazard Management Plan <br /> birds, including adults, are often food stressed, making them more susceptible to <br /> being trapped. Adults that breed on and around the airfield are most likely to <br /> return. When this occurs and if they present a strike risk, lethal removal is <br /> generally required to protect aviation safety. <br /> Swedish goshawk traps are excellent tools for trapping immature and migrating <br /> raptors. ELN would benefit from employing 3-4 of these across the airfield. <br /> Once set,they can be checked a few times a day and allowed to run over night. In <br /> lieu of routine trap checks,ELN could purchase trap transmitters that notify users <br /> when the trap is triggered, limiting the need for in-person trap checks. <br /> 3) Prevent successful nesting. One red-tailed hawk nest was observed to the west of <br /> the airfield, in the trees along the creek(see the red icon in the lower left corner of <br /> Figure 8). Destroying raptor nests or at least making their eggs non-viable <br /> (USDA WS has replaced eggs with infertile chicken eggs) is effective in reducing <br /> the number of immature birds learning to fly and forage on airports. <br /> Waterfowl <br /> Waterfowl are a serious risk to aviation safety at ELN. Most waterfowl were observed <br /> using or attempting to use pond V,the same pond that the>20,000 European starlings <br /> roosted at. <br /> As with blackbirds,there are practical actions that can be taken to minimize the risk from <br /> waterfowl. The most important is to eliminate/minimize water on/around airport <br /> property. <br /> 1) Prevent drainage water from entering into pond V. Without water,there will be <br /> few to no waterfowl (some geese would continue to use the general area for <br /> loafing and feeding). <br /> a. Removing the vegetation around this pond would also significantly reduce <br /> the abundance of blackbirds. <br /> 2) Divert drainage around the airfield and/or reduce the number of ditches going <br /> through airport property. No waterfowl were observed using the infield area. All <br /> observations of waterfowl using the airfield were related to water(e.g., ditches, <br /> ponds, and areas of temporary standing water)outside the AOA fence. <br /> Some individuals may contend that waterfowl were not an issue because they <br /> were attracted to the areas outside of the AOA. However,Figure 8 shows that <br /> waterfowl crossed the traffic pattern as they travelled to and from these <br /> attractants. Less water entering the airfield from the surrounding area would <br /> mean less water for waterfowl to be attracted to. Consolidating ditches into 1 or 2 <br /> drainages would also limit areas where waterfowl would be present,which would <br /> then reduce the amount of time personnel spend patrolling the area for hazardous <br /> wildlife. <br /> 2-13 <br /> 31 December 2024 <br />