Plan Underway To Relocate Native Bird Population

Rollin Tebbetts, operations manager for Connecticut's Bradley International Airport (BDL), faces a dilemma. He wants his airport to grow... but he doesn't want to displace the multitude of avian creatures that call the area home.

"Hear that?" Tebbetts whispered in a recent interview with the Hartford Courant... before steering his car to catch a glimpse of a savannah sparrow (right), chirping and singing.

In addition to that fist-sized warbler, the airport is also home to grasshopper sparrows... upland sandpipers... and a variety of other grassland birds. Some are endangered; all return to Bradley every spring to breed. It is Tebbett's job to make sure the birds aren't harmed by maintenance and construction work at the rapidly-expanding airport.

It is a thankless, and seemingly contradictory, task. A number of aviation-related businesses want to build new factories on the airport grounds, says state transportation department spokesman Judd Everhart. Corporate operators want to build new hangars, closer to the airport terminals... and on grounds now populated by birds.

"Those birds are basically holding up development," says Connecticut DOT engineer Bob Bruno. "Their nesting grounds are all over the place. They dictate what time of year we can construct. They dictate our maintenance schedule. The birds are an issue."

The state's Endangered Species Act says the airport much provide a plan to mitigate the impact of new development on native wildlife. Without such a plan, BDL -- as with any other state agency -- can't move forward with expansion plans.

In the short-term, officials are also concerned the birds are preventing the airport from complying with FAA regulations, calling for grass near runways and taxiways to be mowed. An agreement between the state DOT and Department of Environmental Protection blocks such mowing on certain parts of the airport from May 1 through August 15, to avoid disturbing the breeding season.

State officials voted to purchase a new home for the birds in 2005. The $3.5 million expenditure represents the state's largest -- and most expensive -- wildlife mitigation project so far, according to the Courant. Officials are now scouting locations... but even once a suitable area is found, it may still take several years for the birds to migrate there. Tall grasses will need to be planted, and replanted; weeds will have to be pulled.

"Just for a pair of these birds to look at the site and want to stop in, it's got to be 150 acres," Bruno said. "They say that's the minimum attraction."

The birds themselves may help the airport attain that goal sooner, however... as they're used to being displaced by growth, and are nomadic by nature, according to Ed Parker, chief of the DEP's bureau of natural resources.

"They do have an affinity for places they're familiar with, but when there's enough disturbance of the habitat, they'll just keep right on going," he said. "The best we can do is create a habitat and hope that the birds will find it."

Efforts at Bradley International are but a small representation of the state's efforts to preserve wildlife, Parker says, as the state continues to attract more people and development.

"The purpose of all this isn't just to deal with Bradley, it's to maintain habitat in Connecticut. It's not only about appreciating the birds, but retaining their diverse species in the state," Parker said. "The grassland habitat in our state is rapidly being lost. Soon, the bird population won't come to Connecticut. They'll fly right past us and head north."

FMI: www.bradleyairport.com, www.ct.gov/dep/