Evaluation and Mitigation of Bird Hazards in Ex-Vaso de Texcoco: The Proposed Site of a New International Airport for Mexico City

If Mexico is to meet increasing demands for air travel, a new international airport for Mexico City must be constructed. At the request of the Secretaria de Comunicaciones y Transportes (SCT), we evaluated Ex-Vaso de Texcoco (EVT), one of several sites considered for construction of the new airport, to determine if birds would pose an unacceptable risk to aircraft. Aerial (by helicopter) and ground surveys were conducted on 6 occasions during fall and winter from 1996-2002 to census birds and evaluate aquatic habitats at EVT and other locations in the Valley of Mexico. Total populations estimates for waterfowl and shorebirds using EVT ranged from 29,000 to 77,000 (mean = 48,300). The majority of birds observed (70%) were south of the Carretera Peñon Texcoco (CPT), the highway that bisects EVT. The wetlands north of the CPT contained about 3% of the ducks and 3% of the coots in the Mexican Highland\u27s wintering population. We concluded that an airport could be constructed in EVT north of the CPT without a significant bird-strike threat, provided habitats attractive to birds were not allowed within 3.2 km of the airport\u27s aircraft movement areas, and conditions were not created that would encourage birds to over-fly the airport or move into or through the airport\u27s approach/departure airspace. We recommended that wetland losses due to airport construction north of CPT should be off set by enhancing and expanding wetlands identified elsewhere in the Valley of Mexico to ensure no net loss of wetlands within the valley. Our investigation of bird issues was only one of numerous technical and economic studies conducted regarding the site selection and design of the new airport for Mexico City. Based on the conclusions of all these studies, of which birds were only one factor, an area in EVT north of CPT was selected in October 2001 as the site for the new airport. Our study demonstrated the importance of including the evaluation of bird hazards in the site-selection and design phases for any airport

WATERFOWL

The term waterfowl is properly applied only to ducks, geese, and swans. In North America, most waterfowl are migratory, flying long distances in the spring and fall between the summer breeding grounds and wintering areas. Waterfowl, as their name implies, are most often found near water. The food of individual waterfowl species ranges from fish to insects to plants in various combinations, depending on availability. Waterfowl are normally monogamous and solitary nesters. Goose problems in urban and suburban areas are primarily caused by giant Canada geese, which are probably the most adaptable of all waterfowl. In the United States, migratory birds, including most waterfowl, as well as their nests and eggs, are federally protected (50 CFR 10.12) by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) (16 USC)