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Howdy again!

Pine Warblers, Carolina Wrens, and cardinals are singing this morning. I
have to mention this again this winter--Hermit Thrushes have an
adorable, sweet face as they stay in one place and look all around!

Yesterday I wrote an email to Kelly Davis, who was so kind to lead a
trip around her place for CBC members last month. I was checking on the
loon that seemed stuck in the canal at Mattamuskett during the CBC
weekend, plus, I asked for the local opinion of the Navy landing field
near Pungo and Mattamuskett. You'll find her reply below.

I'm getting ready to write my letters now!! Wake Audubon passed around a
petition against the landing strip last night at our meeting. Might be a
good idea for other Audubon and bird clubs, too!!


Happy birding, Karen Bearden
Raleigh, NC
chickadeebirders@earthlink.net


Hi Karen,

No, I haven't seen a loon in several weeks and I've been out quite a bit
lately (great place to live...).

Now, about the OLF.  It was last spring when the Navy held their first
public meetings (informal conversation tables/displays w/ Navy staff
present - all very pleasant of course).  Their first public notices
mentioned 8 possible sites, 7 in NC and 1 in Georgia I believe.  One of
the
areas was just northeast of Lake Mattamuskeet and the flight footprint
would have covered most of the east end of Matt NWR.  You can imagine
the
letter writing that we did in conjunction with some local private
waterfowl
hunt operations, landowners, etc.  Not only did we point out the hazards
posed by swans and snow geese, we mentioned the enormous flocks of
redwings
and tree swallows that zoom over those fields, the vultures and eagles
that
hang aloft, and the large movements of all birds that occurs almost
'round
the clock, 'round the year. The proposition was ludicrous.  Many of us
also
mentioned how idiotic it would be to place the OLF just west of Pungo
because the same hazards were there - and some in greater number than
Mattamuskeet.  Early on in the process I called in Adam Kelly, a
Geo-Marine
biologist who headed up the Bird Aircraft Strike Hazard/Bird Avoidance
Model (BASH/BAM) project for the Dare County Range (Air Force).  Adam is
now in Pensacola but is updating work for the Dare Range.  Anyway, as he
is
an authority on Dare/Hyde bird movements and the pilots' abilities to
avoid
them, I thought his input would be priceless - he made some point blank
statements about the extreme hazards that would await pilots flying
around/through either the proposed Mattamuskeet OLF or the Pungo area
OLF.
The FWS wrote lengthy comments and recommended these sites not be
considered.   Most of the counties that could be affected joined forces
to
oppose the OLF being sited at any of 6 or 7 of the proposed sites.

As the process matured, it became obvious that the Navy was most
interested
in the Craven site or the Pungo site ( the footprint of which more or
less
straddles the Washington/Beaufort County line).  By then, the FWS was
gathering intra-agency momentum in concert with Joe Albea and other
interested individuals who understand the great natural resources at
stake
and the unthinkable risks those resources would pose for Navy pilots.
Joe,
FWS, NAS, and others have coordinated the recent press attention and are
putting forth great effort to get the Pungo site (and all other NC
sites)
off the Navy's radar screen.  Joe keeps me abreast of this big mess and
has
escorted Navy personnel around the Pungo area to personally introduce
them
to the large flocks of snow geese and swans with which Cbirders are well
acquainted.  The message to the Navy is:  not Pungo, not Craven, not
North
Carolina.

Now that we understand where the Navy's focus is, and perhaps has been
all
along, it is the time for Cbirders and others to write or call.  Written
letters are more effective than emails, though emails are better than
nothing.

Local opinion seems to be weighted in oppostion to the OLFs (including
the
Chambers of Commerce and Boards of Commissioners) but there are numerous
individuals who have written letters to the editors in favor of an OLF
just
about anywhere.  They have a right to their opinion but I do not think
they
understand the serious threat the birds pose to the pilots, nor do they
place a grand amount of value on migratory bird populations and
energetics.

Hope this wasn't more detail than you wanted.  I think Joe and the FWS
have
done a great job of getting out the word on all this at a critical time.
Please pass this along to anyone whom might be interested.

Kelly