Terns & drones at Bolsa Chica | Los Angeles Times

[Posted by Chuck Almdale]

Today’s Los Angeles Times has a front page article about the Elegant Tern mass abandonment of nests at Bolsa Chica, caused by a crashing drone. The birds did not return to their nests, but drones still plow the sky.

Drone wipes out generation of birds
Thousands of Elegant Terns fled Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve at the May 12 crash. | Los Angeles Times | Alex Wigglesworth | June 8 , 2021

The photo & caption below, included with the printed version of the article, contain several errors. Can you spot them?

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If you see dogs or drones in protected areas where they ought not to be, call California Fish & Wildlife: CAL-TIP 888-334-2258

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The Orange County bird-chat hot line carried the following important and informative message from an astute local birder, writer’s name omitted [emphasis added].

I see from the article that “the state is also hoping to work with federal authorities to ensure that airspace over the reserve and other sensitive areas is listed as restricted.” The problem is that drone operators use an FAA app that shows them where they can fly, and on the app the bird area is “green.”

I called the FAA to find out who the contact is, so I can write a letter in support of the FAA changing the online map to whatever it is when it is not green. This person told me that the contact person for getting the app map changed would be David May….FAA employees are still working from home, so the best way to reach him is by email, David.may@faa.gov.

I’m planning to write a letter saying I understand the state may be working with him or his department already, but that I also want to express my support for changing the map so that there is no ambiguity for drone operators (app says one thing, signs say another).

The following day (9-Jun-21) I received this message from DJAustin:

Sent an email to David May and he replied he had nothing to do with LAANC (Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability) but he would see what he could do to help.

UPDATE: I sent an email to David May, who replied on 6/10/21 [emphasis added]:

Thanks for reaching out and the work you do in protecting our wildlife.

I am an FAA employee and I work in the UAS Office but I am not involved in this incident.  I did hear about it earlier this week however and know that it is being investigated.  I am hoping the person responsible is identified and action is taken.   

I did look at a VFR Sectional Chart (used by manned pilots that are not flying solely by instruments) and can see that much of Northern California along the coast has NOAA Regulated areas called National Maritime Sanctuary Designated Areas.  I am not sure the history of how this was established but it might be worth pursuing.  Also, do you happen to know if the Elegant Tern (Thalasseus elegans) is a protected species (either Federal or State)?  I contacted one of our lawyers who works environmental issues and want to give her as many options as possible.  

I then sent David some additional info on Elegant Tern status and population.

Also on 6/10/21 from Orange County Birder Leila:

I learned it’s not an F.A.A. map, it’s an F.A.A.-approved phone app called AirMap which is what local drone operators use. My next research step will be to find out if there are other drone apps, or does pretty much everybody use AirMap.

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A few highlights of the L.A. Times article:

• About 3,000 Elegant Terns abandoned nests
• 1,500 – 2,000 eggs left behind, none viable
• Current location of birds that fled is unknown
• Drone crashed 5/12/21
• Problems continue with bicyclists, dogs, dog waste, drones and car break-ins (break-ins previously reported here)
• Drones not permitted above state wildlife reserves
• Reserve supports 800 species including 300 species of birds
• 23 Special status species, including: Ridgeway’s Rail, Western Snowy Plover, California Least Tern
• Terns normally arrive in April, finish nesting & leave by August
• Bolsa Chica one of four known nesting sites for Elegant Terns
• Operator of crashed drone found and cited
• Another drone flew over manager Melissa Lobel while being interviewed by KABC-TV last Thursday