Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center
On 8 May 1974 several thousand snow geese (Chen caerulescens) were feeding on a stubble field near Pilot Mound, about 145 km southwest of Winnipeg. The birds covered almost the whole field and some were feeding very close to a power line that bordered one side of the field. A light aircraft flying at an estimated height of 100 to 200 ft (30 to 60 m) approached the field and caused panic among the snow geese. They took wing and in a chaotic mass rushed off the field on the side of the transmission lines. Many geese were injured or killed because they struck the wires, with the total number of birds involved varying from 25 to 75 depending on the person reporting the incident. Several reports of snow goose disturbance in southern Manitoba by light aircraft have been reported, some of which probably involved curious and ill-informed pilots but on other occasions, deliberate harassment.
U.S. Department of the Interior |
U.S. Geological Survey
URL: http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/literatr/disturb/bibli017.htm
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