 |
 |
|
|
|
I S S U E 2
|
JFK sits at the northern edge of the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Preserve, a 650-acre salt marsh. This spring 2000, 17 falcons will be shipped to the runways for the third year in a row to keep flying machines and flying fowl from colliding. "The theory is that the sight of this bird of prey will scare the other birds," says Richard Chipman, state director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services.
But at JFK, birds are becoming indifferent to the noise, Francoeur says. Some species, geese and gulls especially, have even stopped migrating, finding plenty of food on suburban golf courses or landfills. "Gulls are adaptive to humans," says Francoeur. "They've found ways to coexist with people." Thus Francouer and her colleagues spend their days harassing the species they spent years learning to protect. Says the FAA's Chipman, "Basically you take everything you've learned and know about preserving habitats and turn it on its ear."
|
Bird Strike Contacts
|
he
last serious bird strike at JFK occurred in 1975 when a DC10 struck
a flock of seagulls, overran the runway and, after the crew and
all passengers escaped, exploded in flames. To prevent a repeat
of this fiasco, JFK now spends $850,000 on a wildlife hazard management
program. Still the airport reports between five and 20 bird strikes
every month. 
long
the southern
