HABITAT SURVEY FOR RECOGNIZING BIRD ATTRACTANTS AROUND BENAZIR BHUTTO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN
Sameera Arshad*, Iftikhar Hussain*, Maqsood Anwar* and Sarwat Naz Mirza*
ABSTRACT
Habitats around airfields that attract bird species, pose serious threat to aviation industry. Habitat survey for recognizing bird attractants and hazardous bird species was carried out at 8 selected study sites within 8 km radius of Benazir Bhutto International Airport (BBIA), Islamabad. Each site represented a different habitat and was ranked for the presence of bird attracting sites using Habitat Composite Index (HCI). Habitat representing naturally preserved recreational area (Ayub Park) showed highest rank (9.7) for the presence of bird attracting sites followed by commercial habitat ranking (6), habitat near water bodies and landfill sites (5.6), followed by habitat with old buildings as dominant feature (4), landfill sites (2.9) habitat near sport ground (1.8), however bird score of these two sites, was 2 and 3, respectively. Habitat representing modern housing society with covered trash transfer facility (with rank, 1.3) had least bird attracting sites. About 64 plant species and 34 bird species were recorded during the survey. Results indicated that habitat near BBIA is highly conducive for bird activity which in return is a serious safety concern for aircraft operation. Outcome of this study could be incorporated into off airfield bird management programme for monitoring bird activity and land use practices around the airfield.
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