American coots caused an unusual highway safety hazard 

 on Interstate 10 near Mobile, AL, during FY 1995. 

 Numerous near collisions occurred when vehicles swerved 

 to avoid coots attempting to land on the 1-10 bridge over 

 Mobile Bay during inclement weather. More than 200 coots 

 were killed by automobiles over a 2-week period. Among 

 the recommendations provided to the Alabama Department 

 of Transportation included the use a variety of scare tactics 

 to keep the birds away from the area during bad weather. 



In March, a mountain lion attacked a visitor in a national 

 forest north of Los Angeles, CA. The man was riding a 

 mountain bike when he saw the lion charging him. The lion 

 attacked him, biting and scratching him on his head and 

 arms. The man grabbed a large rock and hit the animal 

 several times on its head, causing the lion to flee. The 

 California Department of Fish and Game requested ADC 

 assistance to capture the lion, and the ADC specialist who 

 responded caught it a few days later. 



The ADC Rabies Information Service, established in 

 Vermont to address public concerns about the northward 

 spread of the mid-Atlantic strain of rabies, completed its third 

 year of operation. During FY 1995, the toll-free telephone 

 service logged in 4,096 calls, representing a 77 percent 

 increase over 1994. 



Airports 



Birds and mammals around airports present a threat to 

 public safety when they collide or get sucked into engines. 

 As a result, U.S. aviation regulations (14 Code of Federal 

 Regulations, Part 139) require airports experiencing 

 wildlife-aircraft conflicts to develop and implement wildlife 

 management plans. 



Because most airport employees lack the technical expertise 

 to identify the causes of wildlife hazards, the Federal 

 Aviation Administration and ADC entered into a cooperative 

 agreement in 1989 to resolve wildlife hazards at airports. At 

 the request of either the Administration or airport 

 management, ADC specialists provide technical and/or 

 operational assistance to reduce or control wildlife hazards 

 to aircraft. During 1995, ADC personnel provided such 

 assistance to approximately 350 airports throughout the 

 United States. ADC also conducts an agency-developed 

 training program for airport managers and other airport 

 employees regarding bird identification and available control 

 methods. (ADC provides the same sen/ice to the U.S. Air 

 Force as well.) 



The following accounts represent a variety of problems 

 reported during 1995 and describe the action taken by ADC 

 to resolve wildlife-aircraft hazards. 



Four people were bitten by rattlesnakes during the summer 

 of 1995 in the Amarillo, TX, panhandle area. One was a 

 near-fatal incident involving a 71 -year-old man. News 

 coverage of the problem prompted an increase in calls to the 

 ADC office. Personnel from ADC and the Texas Parks and 

 Wildlife Department provided interviews to a local television 

 station, including information on damage prevention, rodent 

 control, and the rattlesnake biology. The news segment 

 aired several times and helped allay citizen concerns. 



Safety hazards and health concerns were caused by several 

 hundred black and turkey vultures roosting on a radio 

 transmission tower at a private aerospace company in 

 Seville, FL. Many of the company's employees refused to 

 work because of the heavy feces deposits on the tower and 

 associated equipment. Sensitive military transmission 

 equipment on the tower is critical for safe operations at the 

 nearby National Aerospace Civil Firing Detachment-Aster 

 bombing range. ADC assisted company officials in 

 developing an action plan that included monofilament lines 

 placed across prime perching areas on the tower to exclude 

 the birds and the use of noise-making devices to scare the 

 birds away from the area. 



• ADC continued to provide assistance to John F. Kennedy 

 (JFK) International Airport in New York City to reduce bird 

 strikes to aircraft. As a result of this program, where 

 laughing gulls crossing JFK airspace are removed by 

 shooting, bird strikes have been reduced by approximately 

 75 percent. ADC also conducted training sessions on 

 nonlethal bird control techniques to JFK personnel and 

 assisted in reviewing landscaping plans to ensure that bird 

 attractants are excluded. 



• ADC personnel actively participated in the fifth Bird Strike 

 Committee USA Conference held at the Dallas-Ft. Worth 

 International Airport in August. The annual conference 

 facilitates information transfer, coordinates the development 

 of new technologies, and provides training on bird hazards 

 to aviation. ADC biologists presented several technical 

 papers, participated on a discussion panel, and conducted 

 hazard control training for approximately 120 attendees. 



• Serious safety hazards posed by Canada geese at the 

 Marshall Municipal Airport in Missouri were reported to ADC in 

 January 1995 after a twin-engine aircraft struck a goose and 

 the impact damaged the aircraft's wing. A site visit by ADC 

 officials revealed approximately 300 Canada geese feeding in 

 cropland adjacent to the runways. ADC recommended 

 pyrotechnics to frighten the geese, reinforced by hunting. City 

 officials implemented a harassment program and removed 

 geese from the airport and adjacent areas during the State 

 goose hunting season. No further problems have occurred. 



Ml ADC Program Highlights, 1995 



