Temporal, Spatial, and Diurnal Patterns in Avian ...

Temporal, Spatial, and Diurnal Patterns in Avian Activity at the Shuttle Landing Facility, John

F. Kennedy

Space

Center,

Florida,

Vickie L. Larson, Sean P. Rowe, David R. Breininger

Technical

Memorandum

97-206644

July

1997

U.S.A.

_,

_._

_._

Spatial Shuttle

Landing

_ ,,!_'_"_._i_'__i:i_i_!_ii

and temporal Facility

for purposes

surrounded

by the Merritt

approximately

331 resident

74 bird species

during

Grackles,

surrounding most

shorebirds,

to aircraft

varied

seasonally

operations

in the presence

swallows,

and several

avionics

operations

periods

of high-risk.

and migratory

Egrets,

and White bird strike

including

Turkey

during

hazards

of migratory

of low-risk

Hazards (MINWR)

Avionic

Analyses

of bird activities

and allows

habitat

airspace

for with

Blackbirds,

sunrise

and sunset

Diurnal surrounding

as a primary vulture

provides

activity

the SLF.

for American

for risk minimization

for

gulls/terns,

identified

was shown

is

in the habitats

pelicans,

in the airspace species

provides

year round

were

were

The airspace

shared

around

at the

USA

Red-winged

raptors,

Vultures

Florida,

which

1994.

.were greatest most

airspace

operations

January

, ._:__'_i',_i_.'_.,._,_i,_'_i_

(BASH).

in 33% of the samples.

of air thermals

of shorebirds.

periods

birds,

and Black

and were represented

species

(KSC),

Ibis were common

wading

Vultures

and abundance

Refuge

1993-

the five-mile

Center

Strike

bird species.

from February

with the development

Variation

Wildlife

_:_i_!"_,_ ?.:_i_ i _i_

within

Space

Bird Aircraft

National

Potential

and passerines.

threat

Island

groups,

_i:i _i_ii_ _i_,_,_:_._

in bird abundance

of quantifying

Cattle

taxonomic

:_ _:_ii_,_i:i:ii_

on John F. Kennedy

the period

the runway.

avian

patterns

(SLF)

investigated

Boat-tailed

i_;i_iii,_i_i_,_!_,_,_i_

Robins,

for planning measures

of

during

Table 1. Frequencyof occurrenceof avianspeciesrecordedatthe ShuttleLanding Facility (SLF). Listed in orderof frequencyof occurrence............................................

15

Table2. Frequencyof occurrenceof aviantaxonomicgroupsat theShuttleLanding Facility. Listed (SLF) in orderof mean# persample............................................................. 17 Table3. Frequencyof taxonomicgroupsusing the runwayandgrass(0 ft) atthe Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF)......................................................................................

17

Figure 1. JohnF. KennedySpaceCenter(KSC) (outlinedby dashedline) andthe locationof the ShuttleLandingFacility (SLF)...........................................................

10

Figure 2. Facility

Bird activity

sample

stations

and land cover

surrounding

the Shuttle

Landing

(SLF) .................................................................................................

12

Figure 3. Blackbird abundance (mean #/sample) at stations 1-5, N PAPI, and S PAPI. Error bars show 95% confidence interval. Means, standard deviations, and sample sizes are shown in Appendix

A ................................................................................................

18

Figure 4. Monthly blackbird abundance (mean #/sample). Error bars show confidence interval. Means, standard deviations and sample sizes are shown in Appendix B ................. Figure

5. Altitudinal

Swallows.

Ground

High=301-1000

distribution = runway

(mean

#/sample)

or grass surface;

of American

Robins,

Low =