The Effect of Airport Lawn Vehicles on the Flocking Behaviour of Barn Swallows
The Effect of Airport Lawn Vehicles on the Flocking Behaviour of Barn Swallows
Jiaojiao Wang, Peng Pan, Tingting Wu and Jianhua Hou*
ABSTRACT
The barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) is a common bird species in airfields and is one of the most common species involved in bird strikes. To identify the activity pattern of barn swallows within airfields, a study was conducted in August 2017 using route survey methods. The results revealed that moving vehicles easily attract barn swallows, which start following the vehicle after it has been moving for 2.250 ± 0.228 min; the number of barn swallows following the moving vehicle peaked after the vehicle had been moving for 11.750 ± 0.668 min; and the barn swallows stopped following the vehicle and quickly flew away from the lawn area 0.055 ± 0.003 minutes after the vehicle stopped moving. The number of swallows was significantly higher in lawns with moving vehicles than in lawns without moving vehicles, and there was significant vertical stratification of the number of swallows, with the highest number being observed in the 0.25–1 m layer above the ground. In addition, the density of insects in the lawn layer in areas without moving vehicles was significantly higher than that in the lawn layer after vehicles had passed through. The density of airborne insects at different heights above the lawn after vehicles had passed through was higher than that in areas without moving vehicles, with the 0.25–1 m stratum layer having the highest density of insects. There was a significant positive correlation between the number of barn swallows and the number of insects after vehicles had passed through. The results indicate that the vehicles driving on the airfield lawn disturbed the insects in the lawn layer, causing the insects inhabiting the lawn layer to fly up, resulting in a significant increase in the number of insects in the space above the lawn layer, which in turn attracted barn swallows to feed and form flocks. This study provides direct evidence for the phenomenon that airport environments attract foraging birds. Therefore, to prevent bird strikes at airports, the effect that moving vehicles on lawns has on birds should be considered in addition to efforts to reduce insect densities.
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