News

Geese removal vital to aircraft safety

  • Published
  • By Wayne Crenshaw
  • 78th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. --  Much is done to ensure the safety of aircraft flights at Robins, including rounding up a flock of Canada geese.

Last week members of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's wildlife branch came to Robins to collect 17 geese residing at Scout Lake. The geese, along with other birds, are a danger to aircraft.

A plane can crash as a result of birds, especially larger ones, getting sucked into jet engines. At Robins, the 78th Air Base Wing Flight Safety office works to minimize the danger through its Bird/Wildlife Aircraft Strike Hazard program, or BASH.

The program includes the Bird Hazard Working Group, which goes to great and sometimes unusual lengths to keep birds away from the air field.

Bob Sargent, natural resources manager at Robins and a member of the working group, said it is not just about birds but keeping all manner of wildlife away from the area. That includes deer, wild hogs, foxes and even smaller critters that attract hawks.

"You basically want to make the whole airfield as unattractive in terms of habitat as you can," he said.

Canada geese, vultures and sandhill cranes are among the biggest threats here. Bird strikes have caused damage to aircraft at Robins, but no accidents.

Small birds can also pose a risk through numbers. From approximately October to mid-March, early morning flights are banned because huge flocks of blackbirds roost in the swamp and fly across the runway at dawn as they head to the city to look for food.

Also, low-altitude night flying is suspended in the spring and fall because of the migration of birds. Most of those are small and not in true flocks, but can still be a threat because of the numbers that may be in the air on a given night.

Many steps are taken to keep birds away from the airfield, including how the grass is cut. It is kept at 7-14 inches because that's what research has shown will minimize its attractiveness to birds. Also, special devices are placed on poles and structures to keep birds from perching.

If all else fails, horns are used to frighten birds away.

All Team Robins members can help. For starters, they should not feed birds, especially geese or ducks. In fact, they should not feed any wildlife. They should also report any dead animals they spot as those can attract vultures.

The BASH program has an agreement with the USDA wildlife division to provide assistance in bird control, Sargent said. In addition to capturing and relocating the geese last week, they work to remove pigeons from hangars.

The geese were moved to a lake in South Georgia after getting their wings clipped to ensure they would not return.

Hunters can help out with the deer and hog issue by getting a base hunting permit. Although there are a limited number of permits, Sargent said some have been going unused because hunting has been down. The base has 1,300 acres available for hunting.