New bird-herding dog on Southwest Florida International Airport's radar

Saturday, June 9, 2001

By KARIE PARTINGTON, kjpartington@naplesnews.com

Look out birds — Radar is on the job.  Radar, a 2 1/2-year-old border collie, arrived at Southwest Florida International Airport three weeks ago and is easing into her job as a bird herder. She replaces Jet, the nation's first airport bird dog, who retired in January after he was diagnosed with a heart condition.

Radar's task is to herd and frighten feathered creatures from runways and the areas surrounding them. Airports employ an array of tactics to keep birds at bay — manmade fog, sirens and propane-fueled cannon blasts, to name a few.

Birds and planes don't collide often, but when they do the results can be expensive and dangerous. Collisions, referred to as bird strikes by airport personnel, can kill birds, damage planes and even force aircraft into emergency procedures. In 1995, an airplane departing Southwest International hit two sandhill cranes and was forced to make an emergency landing. Sandhill cranes are particularly large birds, with wing spans that can stretch 5 to 6 feet.

"Usually, a bird strike doesn't result in significant damage, delay or injury, but if it happens at a critical point, it can be a threat," said Bobby D. Orick, the Lee County Port Authority's airside manager of operations.

In 1998, before Jet arrived, 16 bird strikes were logged at the airport. After Jet arrived in 1999, the figure dropped to four. There were eight bird strikes in 2000.

Southwest International's success with the bird dog program hasn't gone unnoticed. There are now bird dogs at airports in Augusta, Ga., Vancouver, British Columbia, and Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, to name a few.

The Lee County Port Authority purchased Radar from Flyaway Farm and Kennels in Reidsville, N.C., for $6,000. The airport operations staff named her.

Gil Forgays, one of two operations staff members trained to handle Radar, said the dog is adjusting smoothly to her new surroundings.

"In the few weeks she's been here she's already a lot more relaxed," he said. "She loves people and loves the attention."

Radar responds to a combination of verbal and whistled commands. Her handler allows her to charge headlong into flocks of resting birds and frighten them away. Because a border collie's instincts are to herd and not capture the birds, they escape unharmed.

"Everything else that we do is seemingly an annoyance (to the birds)," Orick said. "But this is a force they perceive as a threat."

Sean Murphy is the veterinarian who treats Radar and the eight narcotics-sniffing and bomb-sniffing dogs at the airport. He also treated Jet. He said border collies are the perfect breed for airport work.

"They are intelligent, they're alert, they're curious, and they'll herd anything. They'll herd cars or kids or anything," he said. "This is an instance where those natural traits have been channeled into a constructive use."

Murphy said Radar is up to the challenge of doing Jet's old job, although she's got a different disposition than her predecessor.

"Jet was a little more independent and didn't like kids," he said. "Radar is a little sweeter and a little laid back. She's a good dog."

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