Ospreys are captured and fitted with satellite telemetry 

 transmitters to study the birds' movement patterns during 

 breeding and migration periods. (NWRC photo by Brian S. Dorr.) 



Assessing Potential Risks That Ospreys Pose 

 for Bird-Aircraft Strikes — Osprey populations in 

 North America liave sliown a dramatic recovery 

 in the past decade, with breeding populations 

 continuing to expand along the Atlantic coast. From 

 1973 to 1996, the Chesapeake Bay population 

 increased from 1,400 breeding pairs to more than 

 3,500. These factors suggest that ospreys can be 

 a serious safety and economic concern to military 

 flight operations. A multiagency research project 

 was initiated in 2006 to quantify the risk of osprey- 

 military aircraft collisions. Risk levels were derived 

 from satellite tracking of breeding and migratory 

 movements of ospreys in relation to military flight 

 operations in the mid-Atlantic Chesapeake Bay 

 region. NWRC scientists captured and attached 

 global positioning system (GPS) satellite telemetry 

 transmitters to six adult ospreys on their nesting 

 territories near Langley Air Force Base, Virginia. 

 Satellite-tagged ospreys were monitored daily during 

 the breeding (summer), fall migration, and wintering 

 periods of 2006. Intensive monitoring of the birds 

 during the breeding season suggested that adult 

 ospreys are active (i.e., flying) about the same 

 amount of time during daylight hours. 



Four ospreys completed their fall migration to 

 their wintering grounds in the Caribbean or South 

 America, traveling an average distance of 4,828 km; 

 contact with the other two ospreys was lost during 

 migration over open ocean. All six adult ospreys 

 traveled similar migration routes along the eastern 

 coast of the United States. Females began their fall 

 migrations in August; males departed in September. 



Adults migrated during daylight hours and roosted 

 at night. Migratory routes and flight characteristics 

 (e.g., altitude) of ospreys will be evaluated to assess 

 the risk that migrating ospreys pose to military 

 aircraft operations along the eastern seaboard. 



During May 2007, an additional seven adult ospreys 

 were fitted with satellite telemetry transmitters near 

 Langley Air Force Base. Information obtained from 

 this study will be used to measure the effectiveness 

 of osprey management practices, develop long- 

 term risk management strategies, and support legal 

 requirements that would allow ospreys and military 

 aircraft to coexist in a safer flying environment. 



Movements of Resident Canada Geese in New York 

 City — Canada geese are one of the most hazardous 

 species to aviation because of their large body size 

 and flocking behavior. Among all birds responsible 

 for economic losses to the aviation industry in North 

 America between 1990 and 2005, Canada geese 

 caused the most damage. In a collaborative effort 

 with the WS program in New York and the FAA, 

 NWRC scientists fitted 200 Canada geese with neck 

 collars in New York City parks near John F. Kennedy 

 International Airport (JFKIA). The movements of 

 these geese are being monitored and recorded to 

 determine how far and in which directions they 

 travel from their banding sites. 



Knowledge of goose movements will allow airport 

 biologists to make more efficient use of time and 

 money to control geese that might threaten safety of 

 aircraft in the New York City area. An added benefit 

 of the study is that, by understanding movement 

 patterns of geese, biologists can avoid harassing 

 geese in a manner that creates a safety hazard. 

 During the molt (June-July), more than half of the 

 geese were resighted in the parks where they were 

 banded. Since they were banded and fitted with 

 neck-collars, the geese have been sighted in four 

 Northeastern States and at JFKIA. In addition, 

 several of the geese are known to have been shot by 

 hunters during the hunting season. The appearance 

 of neck-collared geese at JFKIA indicates that the 

 geese in at least some of the New York City parks 

 frequent the airport. 



Developing Methods 9 



