by: Mike O'Brien
SUMMER 1996
"Shubie Radio...Shubie Radio. This is Patrol 8 and we'll be conducting an eagle survey in the Musquodoboit Harbour to Ecum Secum area."This is a familiar message heard over the Nova Scotia Department of Lands and Forestry' radio system from an aircraft patrol. The department first acquired aircraft in the 1960s for use in fire control. The usefulness of these aircraft for other department activities, including wildlife surveys, was quickly recognized. Since then various conventional fixed-wing aircraft such as Piper Cubs, deHavilland Beavers, Maules, and Cessnas, have been used to conduct surveys of waterfowl, beaver, deer, and moose. Often equipped with skis or floats for access to remote areas, these aircraft open up a whole new realm of wildlife survey capability.
The arrival of another "firefighting tool" in 1974 was important for wildlife management. The helicopter not only provides a "bird's eye" view, but it can slow down and hover over an area to allow staff to more accurately count animals, tracks, bird's nests, beaver houses or other interesting feature. It can even land in small clearings, allowing ground-based surveys access to remote areas never before possible. It wasn't long before wildlife staff were spiriting these new flying machines away whenever they weren't committed to fire fighting duties. The helicopters were used more often as more uses were found for them.
Today, the department's Aviation Services Division has a fleet of four singe engine MacDonnell-Douglas 500 helicopters, one twin engine fixed-wing Piper Aztec airplane. Aviation Services not only provides personnel transport and emergency services such as firefighting and search and rescue, but also efficient support services to various government departments. Most wildlife air survey work is done with the MD 500 helicopters, although the Aztec and the Bell 212 are used for coastal ocean work or other specialty tasks. Helicopters have become one of the most important tools for wildlife management in Nova Scotia. Aerial surveys are an integral part of the management programs for many species.
Any day of the year a Natural Resources' aircraft can be seen somewhere in Nova Scotia working on a wildlife project. Periodically throughout the year, the twin engine Aztec may be seen flying low over coastal waters from Cape Breton to Digby Neck conducting surveys of waterfowl and other seabirds, looking looking for moose and deerm or checking proposed aquaculture sites. During the past two winters, helicopters have been used to locate radio-collared deer and coyotes for a deer wintering area study in Queens and Inverness counties. Staff fly in the helicopters with an odd-looking antenna attached to the front to track the deer and coyotes.
With the arrival of spring, eagles and ospreys return to their nests to raise their young. The helicopters are an invaluable took; it only takes a few seconds to check nest activity and count eggs or young.
The pellet group inventory program, a ground survey technique that provides information on snowshoe hare and deer populations, often relies on helicopters to transport crews into areas difficult to access over land. In May, June, July, helicopters can be seen dipping down over freshwater wetlands and along coastal salt marshes, inlets, and islands counting waterfowl breeding populations and later females with their broods of young. In June and July 1995, staff used helicopters to survey the Nova Scotia coastline for common, arctic, and roseate terns, locating a few previously unknown breeding colonies.
From spring through to early fall, helicopters provide a quick and efficient way to check air photo typing of important wildlife habitat; to access remote areas; to ground check for endangered plants, animals, or other features not visible from air photos or air suveys; or to collect other information available only through direct observations on the ground. Prior to the opening of the waterfowl hunting season in October, wildlife staff go up in helicopters to count flocks of ducks and geese gathered on lakes and coastal areas throughout the province.
The last helicopter survey of the year is for beavers, as they repair their lodges and assemble winter food piles. This allows staff to easily identify active beaver colonies from the air and to conduct censuses along watercourses in various areas of Nova Scotia. When finished, wildlife staff, pilots, and aircraft barely get their landing gear back on the ground when the cycle starts again.
Biologists with the Department of Lands and Forestry use department helicopters to conduct many of their wildlife surveys throughout the province.
Wildlife managers in Nova Scotia are fortunate to have support from Aviation Services. With the experience gained through years of working on wildlife surveys, the pilots have become an important part of the wildlife management team. The depth of experience and team work, together with the availability of versitile aircraft, allow staff to conduct efficient and effective wildlife surveys. This would be very difficult to achieve any other way.
Next time you see a Department of Lands and Forestry' aircraft swooping low over woods, water, or wetlands you may be able to guess the animal being surveyed by the time of year or location. The information gathered is more important to the management of Nova Scotia's wildlife habitat.