MacDill Air Force Base

MacDill AFB in Tampa, FL contracted with Flyaway Farm and Kennels in May 2004 to provide the base with a full service wildlife management program.  The primary birds of concern on the airfield were cattle egrets feeding behind the mowers as well as white ibis, great blue herons and gulls.  We have two border collies patrolling the airfield with our staff.  We saw remarkable progress in just the first few months of the contract.  There was a significant reduction in the amount of time the airfield conditions reflected an increased risk of a birdstrike with an 84% decrease in the amount of time Bird Watch Condition (BWC) was moderate or severe.  The greatest difference is seen when comparing the totals for the month of June.  In June 2003, the airfield at MacDill was in BWC moderate for 64.5 hours compared to 5.1 hours in June 2004.  By having a contractor on the airfield full time, problems are identified immediately and dealt with so that airfield conditions can return to low risk condition.  The total time spent in BWC Severe was only 1 hour for the first 3 months we were at MacDill AFB in 2004, while in 2003, the figure was over 6 times higher.  With our program in place, delays to flight operations due to high risk bird conditions have been minimal.  For any airfield where a considerable amount of aircraft pattern work occurs, the increase in training time can be substantial. 

We conducted a detailed study of wildlife activity and local birdstrikes and made extensive recommendations to overhaul the phase II dates and restrictions in MacDill AFB's BASH plan.  The plan originally called for 7 months of flight restrictions at dawn and dusk.  We determined that the high risk bird populations of vultures were only in the local area for 4 months and we showed that vulture activity did not correspond to the scheduling restrictions in the previous BASH plan.  In fact, their program actually pushed training into the time period that vultures were generally present on the airfield and thus increased the risk of a birdstrike with one of the highest risk species.  In response, MacDill shortened their phase II period by 3 months, modified flying restrictions to include a Bird Watch Alert for the midday period of high vulture activity and added a 30 day phase II period in the spring for migratory birds.  This program significantly increased training time at MacDill AFB while decreasing the risk of strikes with high risk species such as vultures. 

We also completed an airfield assessment and annual reviews to propose long term habitat modification to make the airfield less attractive to the local wildlife: 

Qrecommended that MacDill install roost inhibiting spikes on the runway lights that are installed along the length of a pier out into the bay that attracts pelicans, gulls and osprey.   

Qanalyzed seasonal flight patterns from island wildlife refuges just off the coast that support breeding herons, egrets, ibis and roseate spoonbills and looked at ways to alter the flight paths of transitioning birds and predict high risk time periods that can be used in flight scheduling.   

Qrecommended continued modification of the airfield to eliminate cover for ibis, herons and ducks that were hiding in mangroves and overgrown ditches to reduce the number of large birds on the airfield and increase visibility and access to any birds present

Qidentified two unique food sources gulls were utilizing on the airfield: the cicadas that were present in greater than usual numbers in 2004 and a fruiting plant growing wild on the airfield.  This type of information will be used to modify the airfield environment to make it less attractive to gulls.  We have also identified a source of freshwater the gulls are utilizing in large numbers and work to decrease usage of this area by gulls.   

 

Flyaway Farm and Kennels’ program at MacDill AFB, was originally run by Todd Fennema. Todd's background in aviation and airfield management at Daytona International Airport brought a great deal of aviation expertise to the company and to the program at MacDill. Todd now works for a major airline and the program at MacDill AFB is currently managed by Jon Gilbert. Jon has a master’s degree from Jacksonville State University in wildlife conservation. Jon has worked as a biologist for several government agencies including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, and Army Corps of Engineers. He has worked with bird management programs, endangered species mitigation, wetland mitigation, wildlife management and GIS technology. He brings a great deal of field experience to the program at MacDill AFB, as well as experience relocating and managing populations of threatened and endangered species. He and our BASH K-9 Trim were awarded coins by the AMC IG inspection team after MaDill received an excellent rating on an inspection. The BASH program was lauded as one example of the good work being done by the team at MacDill and Jon was recognized for his excellent habitat management and land use recommendations and dedication to the program.