Bald eagles hang around Ohio airport 

Bald eagles hang around Ohio airport

CLEVELAND, Mar 22, 2009 (Menafn - UPI via COMTEX) --Bald eagles are posing a safety risk at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, where the giant birds have landed, officials said.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported Sunday that four eagles -- two adults and two juveniles -- have been spotted off and on at the airport since December.

The newspaper said the birds -- weighing up to 15 pounds each -- could cause major problems for planes landing and taking off from the airport because they could be sucked into jet engines, possibly causing planes to crash.

"They are of real, legitimate concern," said Richard Dolbeer, an ornithologist who develops ways to keep planes from colliding with birds.

In 1979 there were just four pairs of bald eagles nested in Ohio, compared to more than 200 today, the newspaper noted.

"I like to look at it as a great success story," Dolbeer said. "The population has become abundant enough we can discourage them from nesting near an airport."

To discourage the birds from hanging around the airport, officials have a permit to shoo them away with strobe lights, firecrackers and sirens, Ohio Division of Wildlife spokesman Damon Greer said.

www.upi.com

Copyright 2009 by United Press International