Is removing nests the right way to tackle problem of bird-hits?

Ahmedabad: At a time when dealing with wildlife issues that clash with human interests is getting increasingly complex, a highly contentious directive has been issued by the Forest department to tackle the dangers posed by bird hits to civil aviation.

In a first-of-its-kind order, the department has invited bids from the common masses to bring down the nests of Black Kites (identified as the principal threat) found within a five-km radius of the city airport.

The area to be sanitised of Black Kite nests, thus effectively makes for more than half of the entire city.  

Provisions do exist in the Wildlife Act, to counter threats posed by wildlife, in the interest of public safety. However, prudence demands that extreme measures be resorted to only when all other mitigating efforts are exhausted.

In the case of the city airport, it is debatable whether other factors responsible for the presence of Black Kites in such numbers have been adequately addressed.

The commensality of Black Kites with humans and their environs is responsible for the species' continuing abundance, especially when compared to its fellow raptors whose fate in the face of human pressures has been less kind.

Even within human habitation, the numbers are directly linked to the prevalent sanitary conditions.

Meat and fish markets with poor or non-existent waste disposal amenities are bound to attract scavenging birds, as would uncleared garbage dumps and standing water.

Within the airport perimeter itself, the growth of grass, especially during the monsoon months, will engender a host of biota with, in this case the Black Kite, at the top of the localised food chain.

Vegetation growth needs to be controlled throughout the year, although it will be interesting to know if bird strike incidents are higher during the monsoon months.

Airport authorities would also be aware of birds being attracted to bitumen surfaces, especially in areas affording vast undisturbed spaces.

Runways are therefore, favoured spots, and suitably, staff has been assigned the task of shooing the birds off during the critical peak take-off and landing periods of aircrafts.

However, with the majority of flights at Ahmedabad being serviced either early in the morning or late in the evening, the Black Kite is allowed the freedom of loafing in the danger zone during the lull period.

This knee-jerk response to deterring birds from a certain area goes against the basic premise of animal behaviour conditioning.

Both automated and manual means need to be adopted to continuously harass the birds throughout the day, to a point where the place becomes totally inhospitable.

Effective bird control mechanisms necessitate ridding or minimising conditions conducive to the needs of the threat species rather than trying to cap populations by physically removing nests.

This is hardly a viable option and given the high imponderables during the execution phase, it will not succeed in the long run.

With the large numbers of Black Kites that exist at the site and the species' longevity, removal of nests will scarcely alter the numbers to the level where they cease to be a danger to aircrafts.

The need of the hour is therefore, to tackle the existing population. This can be done by habitat modification and other methods, leading to a change in the species' behaviour, rather than hinder the process of recruitment, which could bring forth ethical and even legal issues.  

 Just when awareness regarding the importance of the natural world is gradually reaching the masses, such decisions only send conflicting signals about wildlife in general.

Moreover, tackling delicate wildlife issues in any case ought to be undertaken by trained personnel, and cannot be left to the lay public.

And offering incentives to execute such tasks is surely a throwback to the days of the bounty hunters.

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