Feeding wildlife is aircraft hazard Published Feb. 28, 2013 By Senior Airman Heather Heiney 81st Training Wing Public Affairs KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- Not only is feeding wildlife bad for feathered birds, it can be devastating for the birds on which the Air Force relies to complete its missions. According to Air Force Safety Center headquarters, in 2012 there were a documented 4,768 wildlife strikes to aircraft across the Air Force, which caused nearly $11 million dollars in damage. According to the 81st Training Wing Bird Aircraft Strike Hazard Plan, Keesler's bird hazard increases in late spring and early summer and remains high until late summer. Some hazards include: · Doves, pigeons, swallows, starling and blackbirds are the main threat during this period. Dove activity peaks in July and accounts for the majority of bird strikes during the summer months. · Historically, egrets begin arriving in October and are present until spring. · Sea birds are an intermittent problem and generally seek refuge on an airfield prior to and up to 72 hours after Gulf storms or after torrential rains. · The Back Bay of Biloxi is an active habitat for aquatic shorebirds such as terns, ducks, loons and pelicans. · While geese are seldom considered a problem, Daniel Sullivan, wildlife biologist for the Air Force BASH team, said there are currently both resident and migratory Canadian geese in the Keesler area. "The migrants will leave sometime in March, but until then, the population of geese will remain high on and around your airfield. There is no silver bullet for controlling geese and managing geese is like mowing the grass, you don't just do it once," Sullivan said. Dudley Cruse, 81st TRW Flight Safety Office, said one area where birds often gather is near the pond at the Bay Breeze Golf Course. "Airfield Management spends a lot of time and pyrotechnics on scare tactics to flush the wildlife away from the pond in hopes of preventing a bird strike to an aircraft," Cruse said. However, if the birds associate the pond with food because they are being fed, they will continue to return. Some of the other ways the bird population is kept under control include mowing from the flight line outward causing insects and animals to move away from the flight line, controlling pests and trash, eliminating standing water, bird-proofing buildings and hangars and any other means available to keep wildlife away from the airfield. These measures are all in place to protect Air Force lives and assets and to ensure that every mission can be completed safely. "If an aircraft starts to land the birds get spooked and it can be disastrous," Cruse said. "If people wouldn't feed wildlife period, that would help us out."