NOT THE SHARPEST KNIVES IN THE DRAWER: Airports And Wetlands Sanctuaries Don’t Mix
According to preliminary reports, Flight 1549 from NYC’s La Guardia Airport had reached an altitude of 3,000 to 4,000 feet, when the pilot radioed that there had been a bird strike. The plane had apparently encountered a flock of Canada geese. The engines of the Airbus A320 can withstand a 4-pound bird passing through the turbines, but Canada geese average about nine pounds.
According to FAA stats, from 1990 to 2007 U.S. pilots reported 1,109 strikes by Canada geese, causing $47.4 million in damage to airplanes.
“New York is a high-risk region for bird strikes, with three major airports close to active wetlands, waterways and wildlife preserves,” reports The New York Times:
After a 1970s population decline in larger wild bird species because of environmental contamination, legislation requiring cleaner air and water resulted in “a remarkable resurgence in the population of larger bird species,” said Richard A. Dolbeer, a biologist and consultant who researched the problem for decades at the Department of Agriculture. …
The Federal Aviation Administration, the Port Authority and the United States Department of Agriculture have tried to discourage birds from settling near airports, removing shrubs, trees and other vegetation that attracts nesting.
A five-year, $3 million program at Kennedy Airport uses falcons to disrupt the birds …
At La Guardia Airport, birds’ nests have been raided (slathering the eggs with vegetable oil prevents them from hatching), and attempts have been made at several airports to startle them.
Conservation groups have often opposed the agency’s efforts, saying they endangered rare nesting colonies of gulls, and animal rights groups have criticized bird culls, but the Port Authority insists that they are sometimes necessary.
Wildlife biologist Steve Garber, a former Port Authority consultant, tells the New York Post that it’s kill or be killed when it comes to the geese:
It would be fairly easy for Port Authority workers to round up and net geese in June and July, when they're molting and unable to fly, Garber said.
Once they're caught, they could be taken to a new habitat far from the city - or killed for their meat, which could be donated to homeless shelters, he added.
"If you keep on doing that, you will get the whole breeding population," said Garber. "In a short period of time, you will have fewer breeding birds."
If that's not feasible, Garber said, he sees nothing wrong with shooting them, poking holes in their eggs, shaking their eggs so the embryos are destroyed, wrecking their nests, or taking any number of other measures to eradicate the pesky and dangerous geese.
"There are lots of ways," he said. "You can throw rocks at them. You can hit them with sticks.
"These are things that people don't like. But, we are talking about geese."
The Post notes that the Canada geese are covered by “four international treaties and federal and state laws designed to protect … migratory birds.”
These geese, while quite beautiful to gaze upon, pose a significant hazard to drivers, children (who innocently approach them to play) and the general public. Nowhere is this more prevalent than along the densely populated Hudson waterfront in NJ, from Edgewater to Hoboken.
These geese love this strip of coastline because there are many green areas, particularly wide open sports feels where they can exercise their wont. They poop everywhere and, while the scat is quite odorless, it sure doesn’t make the softball fields fun to play on. The picnic area in Edgewater is rarely used because of fear of infection (the tables are completely spackled with the stuff).
I’ve been telling folks for years that I will volunteer to round them up in my neighborhood and donate them to homeless shelters.
Why, during the holiday months alone, I’m sure enough geese could be caught in a single weekend by 100 volunteers to provide Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners for all of NYC’s homeless.
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