Birds
From my bee research, I’ve learned that to begin with birds at the landfill (in this case seagulls, eagles and ravens) all of them frequent the area year round because this is an easy food source. When food is scarce, they even have a pecking order to determine which species of bird get the first pass at the new trash. It goes strongest and fastest to least in this pecking order so the eagles get first pick, then ravens and crows, and finally at the bottom, sea gulls.
When it comes to new situations, eagles have been known to hang back and watch as ravens ( who are known for being very smart) test out a new situation to see if it’s a safe and productive situation. In a way, the eagles are using ravens to set any booby traps and uncover the source of food so the eagles are not caught in a trap or wasting their energy looking for the best parts of the trash. This means that species specific behaviors and subtle gestures affect other bird species behavior, so if the bees don't work on eagles it may scare ravens and crows leading to the eagles changing their behavior at the landfill for the better.
Landfill employees have tried to stop birds from eating trash by workers immediately covering new trash with dirt, however, birds have become adapted to this practice and routinely fly in to get the garbage as it's being covered, rendering this method nearly useless. While this does deter the long term availability of trash available to the birds, the problem still remains as birds are very adaptable and willing to overcome obstacles to get to the trash. These birds have become so adapt at optimizing their time to obtain trash that they spend about 10% of their time at the dump with the most frequent hours being 8am-5pm which match landfill operating hours according to a study by Dr. Ahlstrom. One other method currently used by our local landfill is shooting a propane cannon that makes a loud sound as well as firecrackers. This was effective for a period of time, however, the birds eventually got used to it and were no longer affected by these pyrotechnics.
While birds at the landfill pose an environmental risk, it’s complex. The trash itself poses a problem as eagles who have access to trash have a higher mortality rate because of trash entanglements. Efforts to mitigate rodent problems at landfills are also a threat to the birds themselves. Landfills rampant with rodent populations are routinely treated with rat poison which is occasionally consumed by birds in high doses that can impair and kill them. Muir said that landfills have a high bird mortality rate because of this rodent poison that’s set out by workers.
Environmentally, the birds are spreading litter in large and small ways. One way is just dropping trash outside the landfill, anecdotally someone living near the dump would often have dirty diapers dropped on their trampoline by eagles liberating trash from the landfill. Birds also spread landfill waste in small ways. When birds eat garbage, particularly eagles, they tend to travel back and forth between certain locations like the landfill, their nesting spot, and other food sources like the Kenai River in the summer. Young eagles who don't have an established territory to defend also will travel or migrate south just like seagulls migrate in winter to warmer environments. This leads to the spreading of the toxins and pathogens from the bird's gut that they acquired at the landfill and distributed throughout the regions they travel through. Birds who have fed at the landfill will spread toxins and pathogens to our beaches and rivers, to the lower 48 and even other countries as it’s been shown Sea Gulls migrate to Russia and many of our birds migrate south. Everywhere these birds are able to fly is another place their tainted waste is able to reach and spread to. Every bird expert I spoke with I asked the same question, “What do you think is the biggest problem with birds eating trash?” and they all answered, they spread disease, trash, and toxins throughout our environment.
When it comes to new situations, eagles have been known to hang back and watch as ravens ( who are known for being very smart) test out a new situation to see if it’s a safe and productive situation. In a way, the eagles are using ravens to set any booby traps and uncover the source of food so the eagles are not caught in a trap or wasting their energy looking for the best parts of the trash. This means that species specific behaviors and subtle gestures affect other bird species behavior, so if the bees don't work on eagles it may scare ravens and crows leading to the eagles changing their behavior at the landfill for the better.
Landfill employees have tried to stop birds from eating trash by workers immediately covering new trash with dirt, however, birds have become adapted to this practice and routinely fly in to get the garbage as it's being covered, rendering this method nearly useless. While this does deter the long term availability of trash available to the birds, the problem still remains as birds are very adaptable and willing to overcome obstacles to get to the trash. These birds have become so adapt at optimizing their time to obtain trash that they spend about 10% of their time at the dump with the most frequent hours being 8am-5pm which match landfill operating hours according to a study by Dr. Ahlstrom. One other method currently used by our local landfill is shooting a propane cannon that makes a loud sound as well as firecrackers. This was effective for a period of time, however, the birds eventually got used to it and were no longer affected by these pyrotechnics.
While birds at the landfill pose an environmental risk, it’s complex. The trash itself poses a problem as eagles who have access to trash have a higher mortality rate because of trash entanglements. Efforts to mitigate rodent problems at landfills are also a threat to the birds themselves. Landfills rampant with rodent populations are routinely treated with rat poison which is occasionally consumed by birds in high doses that can impair and kill them. Muir said that landfills have a high bird mortality rate because of this rodent poison that’s set out by workers.
Environmentally, the birds are spreading litter in large and small ways. One way is just dropping trash outside the landfill, anecdotally someone living near the dump would often have dirty diapers dropped on their trampoline by eagles liberating trash from the landfill. Birds also spread landfill waste in small ways. When birds eat garbage, particularly eagles, they tend to travel back and forth between certain locations like the landfill, their nesting spot, and other food sources like the Kenai River in the summer. Young eagles who don't have an established territory to defend also will travel or migrate south just like seagulls migrate in winter to warmer environments. This leads to the spreading of the toxins and pathogens from the bird's gut that they acquired at the landfill and distributed throughout the regions they travel through. Birds who have fed at the landfill will spread toxins and pathogens to our beaches and rivers, to the lower 48 and even other countries as it’s been shown Sea Gulls migrate to Russia and many of our birds migrate south. Everywhere these birds are able to fly is another place their tainted waste is able to reach and spread to. Every bird expert I spoke with I asked the same question, “What do you think is the biggest problem with birds eating trash?” and they all answered, they spread disease, trash, and toxins throughout our environment.
Infection Research
Where is the proof that birds are spreading pathogens and toxins in our environment? The research by Dr. Ahlstrom has helped paint a clear picture where we can make some easy inferences. To start with, anything that is thrown away can contaminate or be the food that birds ingest.
This becomes a problem in the growth of antibiotic resistance bacteria in our landfills because AMR (anti-microbial resistance) bacteria needs two things to develop, human exposure and antibiotic exposure. Lets use the example of a discarded half-eaten sandwich. This sandwich could have farm raised meat in it which is full of antibiotics and the bacteria left on the sandwich from a person touching it and taking a bite out of it. In combination, this half-eaten sandwich provides an easy place for bacteria to gain resistance to antibiotics. While this little AMR sandwich is brewing in the landfill, the AMR goodness on it then spreads to birds which have their own gut cultures full of Antimicrobial Resistant (AMR) bacteria. Birds, as we’ve discussed above, then are able to transport their gut flora anywhere they travel, but this is really evident in our community at the lower Kenai River. High levels of E.coli are present in the lower Kenai River. Seagulls (but also most birds during dip net season) come to the beach for dead fish carcasses, leave their droppings of AMR pathogens, in particular E coli, which then runs into the water. Several groups monitor and track the E coli levels at the lower Kenai River, however, this is just the smoke of the problem. There is a much larger problem that we’re not measuring at the fire, which is the amount of bird poop in the river. What toxins and pathogens are we NOT measuring that is present in the water? While the E.coli that is measured in the river can impact human health, the larger health concern is the AMR bacteria that we are not measuring for. It might be said that the E.coli may not affect humans in a public health emergency, but in JULY every year the highest numbers of E.coli at the start of dipnetting season are here in Kenai and there is even a Department of Conservation website devoted to informing people about when the bacteria levels are high in the river, and how to keep their families safe at the beach.
How was the poop traced back to gulls? And why the lower Kenai River and not the upper? They can determine which species is responsible by using genetic data and the number of E.coli levels using microbial source testing. The lower Kenai River is where there are large congregations of gulls and where they nest so this means that bacteria have many ways to mutate and evolve. Combined with fish carcasses, many birds congregate here making it a very high concentration of E.coli in the water and possibly AMRs. You might be asking well how do we know it is trash that these E.coli and pathogens are coming from? The answer may come from research done by Dr. Ahlstrom where she looked at the Aleutian Islands. In the Aleutian Islands, they burn trash meaning no birds get into the trash and there are close to zero AMR pathogens in birds they’ve collected. For a bird to carry an AMR, a bird needs human contact or livestock contact and since birds of most species can be found at the dump in one of the top three places they were tracked on a GPS. Can this spread to humans? Yes, this is a huge public health concern because if infected water comes into contact with a human, it can lead to symptoms and what we typically see now is a case of E.coli. The scary part is most of these bacteria are resistant to last-case-you're-about-to-die-antibiotics. In a world where we can't handle an outbreak of resistant E.Coli, this need to stop now while it still can. We must stop this now because there are so many ways for these AMR bacteria to become more evolved. The higher the human population, the more ways it can become immune. Our landfills may be making these AMRs even more hearty because when exposed to heavy metals their negative effects become more amplified, which according to a study, the Kenai River is experiencing a higher level of copper and zinc. It is unknown where these heavy metals are originating from but this poses a huge threat because it helps these AMR pathogens become stronger which is super dangerous for our public health and is harming our environment. While Sea gulls are getting the bad rap here, it’s not just sea gulls that are part of this problem, it's also Eagles, ravens and crows, and with their different migration and daily flight patterns this furthers the spread of AMRs to more humans and environments even crossing international boarders. Our local problem is anything from just a local issue, it’s now an international issue.
This becomes a problem in the growth of antibiotic resistance bacteria in our landfills because AMR (anti-microbial resistance) bacteria needs two things to develop, human exposure and antibiotic exposure. Lets use the example of a discarded half-eaten sandwich. This sandwich could have farm raised meat in it which is full of antibiotics and the bacteria left on the sandwich from a person touching it and taking a bite out of it. In combination, this half-eaten sandwich provides an easy place for bacteria to gain resistance to antibiotics. While this little AMR sandwich is brewing in the landfill, the AMR goodness on it then spreads to birds which have their own gut cultures full of Antimicrobial Resistant (AMR) bacteria. Birds, as we’ve discussed above, then are able to transport their gut flora anywhere they travel, but this is really evident in our community at the lower Kenai River. High levels of E.coli are present in the lower Kenai River. Seagulls (but also most birds during dip net season) come to the beach for dead fish carcasses, leave their droppings of AMR pathogens, in particular E coli, which then runs into the water. Several groups monitor and track the E coli levels at the lower Kenai River, however, this is just the smoke of the problem. There is a much larger problem that we’re not measuring at the fire, which is the amount of bird poop in the river. What toxins and pathogens are we NOT measuring that is present in the water? While the E.coli that is measured in the river can impact human health, the larger health concern is the AMR bacteria that we are not measuring for. It might be said that the E.coli may not affect humans in a public health emergency, but in JULY every year the highest numbers of E.coli at the start of dipnetting season are here in Kenai and there is even a Department of Conservation website devoted to informing people about when the bacteria levels are high in the river, and how to keep their families safe at the beach.
How was the poop traced back to gulls? And why the lower Kenai River and not the upper? They can determine which species is responsible by using genetic data and the number of E.coli levels using microbial source testing. The lower Kenai River is where there are large congregations of gulls and where they nest so this means that bacteria have many ways to mutate and evolve. Combined with fish carcasses, many birds congregate here making it a very high concentration of E.coli in the water and possibly AMRs. You might be asking well how do we know it is trash that these E.coli and pathogens are coming from? The answer may come from research done by Dr. Ahlstrom where she looked at the Aleutian Islands. In the Aleutian Islands, they burn trash meaning no birds get into the trash and there are close to zero AMR pathogens in birds they’ve collected. For a bird to carry an AMR, a bird needs human contact or livestock contact and since birds of most species can be found at the dump in one of the top three places they were tracked on a GPS. Can this spread to humans? Yes, this is a huge public health concern because if infected water comes into contact with a human, it can lead to symptoms and what we typically see now is a case of E.coli. The scary part is most of these bacteria are resistant to last-case-you're-about-to-die-antibiotics. In a world where we can't handle an outbreak of resistant E.Coli, this need to stop now while it still can. We must stop this now because there are so many ways for these AMR bacteria to become more evolved. The higher the human population, the more ways it can become immune. Our landfills may be making these AMRs even more hearty because when exposed to heavy metals their negative effects become more amplified, which according to a study, the Kenai River is experiencing a higher level of copper and zinc. It is unknown where these heavy metals are originating from but this poses a huge threat because it helps these AMR pathogens become stronger which is super dangerous for our public health and is harming our environment. While Sea gulls are getting the bad rap here, it’s not just sea gulls that are part of this problem, it's also Eagles, ravens and crows, and with their different migration and daily flight patterns this furthers the spread of AMRs to more humans and environments even crossing international boarders. Our local problem is anything from just a local issue, it’s now an international issue.
Bee the Solution
The very first thing I learned about bees was that every bird expert that I’ve talked to has said, “This has never been done before” almost in the same breath as “It’s unlikely it’ll work”. While they say it isn’t likely to work, they don’t know if it will work either. So forward we go, I am going to attempt this in the name of high school biology science.
Bees in Alaska are expensive. Who knew that you could order around 4 lbs of bees shipped to your home would cost so much. There are also many varieties of bees, and the ‘heartier’ they are rated for our cold climate, in general the more aggressive they are, however, a local beekeeping expert and wildlife biologist said that at this point, the bees we can obtain are basically domesticated animals. In other words they’re pretty docile. Bees are also kind of crazy when making new hives. A dedicated bee keeper will need to tend to the hive regularly because bees like to reproduce. Every two weeks a beekeeper needs to regulate the queen by making sure she hasn’t laid any queen eggs because if she has, bees produce pheromones that will alert the hive that approximately 70% of them are going to leave with the established queen to create a new hive and leave a tiny population of bees behind to tend to the new queen. They’re really effective because they have backup queen eggs too. While this would be great for increasing the bee population at the landfill, this is terrible for science. It would be difficult to establish and monitor the new hives and hope they’re close to bird problem areas for research data.
This means that the hive I’ve originally proposed as my shelter would be great for free-range bees, however, for scientific purposes this design is severely flawed. Removing the bucket top would damage the hive and could lead to them abandoning it. My first design therefore needs to be modified to allow me to check for queen eggs to keep the bees in my study area without damaging their hive beyond repair.
In researching other hive designs, I’ve found the top bar design which can also be made out of reclaimed wood, has a feature for access to check on the hive and for queen eggs. This design has a queen separator which is basically a grate that blocks the queen from roaming the entire hive because she’s larger than the drone workers and doesn’t fit through the gate. The hive should open towards the south to warm up the bees in the morning since I’ve learned they are super delicate to temperature changes. In constructing a hive, I’ve learned that rodents are a really big problem at the landfill and traditional beehives usually sit only a few inches off the ground. This is why I have chosen this hive style. It is compatible in that it can be made in many shapes and forms with what you have access to. As well as being versatile, it is super easy to incorporate recycled and reclaimed wood and materials. It also sits high off the ground being less susceptible to rodents and being away from the trees squirrels as well.
This also keeps bees from having to fly over trash piles to get out of their hive, because when placing a hive it's best to keep the entrance open so that bees don't run into a bush, or in this case a trash pile.
I also have learned when placing a bee hive or moving one, it's best to move the hive great distances instead of small ones because if they see familiar landscape they will try to return to the original hive. If moved a few feet or across the yard, they could get lost because they don't see the hive or remember the way back. But if moved a great distance, bees will not get confused trying to go to the original location and more easily find their way back to the hive's new location. Moving it from my house to the landfill should be an acceptable move for the bees if I do it late at night or early in the morning before the bees have left the hive for a days work.
What about winter? Well, there are some options about bees when it comes to winter. It depends on the type of winter and the bee species. But usually the options are overwintering or do nothing. In Kenai, there is not a lot of success but in Homer, I’ve heard of a few beekeepers who have successfully done this so when the time comes I plan to find successful overwinter beekeepers and to try and keep them alive to save funds but it's also seems like the most humane thing to do.
One question I’m asked a lot is will I sell the honey and the answer is, "Do you really want to eat honey from the dump?" My hope is that by leaving the honey for the bees my overwintering may be more successful.
Bees in Alaska are expensive. Who knew that you could order around 4 lbs of bees shipped to your home would cost so much. There are also many varieties of bees, and the ‘heartier’ they are rated for our cold climate, in general the more aggressive they are, however, a local beekeeping expert and wildlife biologist said that at this point, the bees we can obtain are basically domesticated animals. In other words they’re pretty docile. Bees are also kind of crazy when making new hives. A dedicated bee keeper will need to tend to the hive regularly because bees like to reproduce. Every two weeks a beekeeper needs to regulate the queen by making sure she hasn’t laid any queen eggs because if she has, bees produce pheromones that will alert the hive that approximately 70% of them are going to leave with the established queen to create a new hive and leave a tiny population of bees behind to tend to the new queen. They’re really effective because they have backup queen eggs too. While this would be great for increasing the bee population at the landfill, this is terrible for science. It would be difficult to establish and monitor the new hives and hope they’re close to bird problem areas for research data.
This means that the hive I’ve originally proposed as my shelter would be great for free-range bees, however, for scientific purposes this design is severely flawed. Removing the bucket top would damage the hive and could lead to them abandoning it. My first design therefore needs to be modified to allow me to check for queen eggs to keep the bees in my study area without damaging their hive beyond repair.
In researching other hive designs, I’ve found the top bar design which can also be made out of reclaimed wood, has a feature for access to check on the hive and for queen eggs. This design has a queen separator which is basically a grate that blocks the queen from roaming the entire hive because she’s larger than the drone workers and doesn’t fit through the gate. The hive should open towards the south to warm up the bees in the morning since I’ve learned they are super delicate to temperature changes. In constructing a hive, I’ve learned that rodents are a really big problem at the landfill and traditional beehives usually sit only a few inches off the ground. This is why I have chosen this hive style. It is compatible in that it can be made in many shapes and forms with what you have access to. As well as being versatile, it is super easy to incorporate recycled and reclaimed wood and materials. It also sits high off the ground being less susceptible to rodents and being away from the trees squirrels as well.
This also keeps bees from having to fly over trash piles to get out of their hive, because when placing a hive it's best to keep the entrance open so that bees don't run into a bush, or in this case a trash pile.
I also have learned when placing a bee hive or moving one, it's best to move the hive great distances instead of small ones because if they see familiar landscape they will try to return to the original hive. If moved a few feet or across the yard, they could get lost because they don't see the hive or remember the way back. But if moved a great distance, bees will not get confused trying to go to the original location and more easily find their way back to the hive's new location. Moving it from my house to the landfill should be an acceptable move for the bees if I do it late at night or early in the morning before the bees have left the hive for a days work.
What about winter? Well, there are some options about bees when it comes to winter. It depends on the type of winter and the bee species. But usually the options are overwintering or do nothing. In Kenai, there is not a lot of success but in Homer, I’ve heard of a few beekeepers who have successfully done this so when the time comes I plan to find successful overwinter beekeepers and to try and keep them alive to save funds but it's also seems like the most humane thing to do.
One question I’m asked a lot is will I sell the honey and the answer is, "Do you really want to eat honey from the dump?" My hope is that by leaving the honey for the bees my overwintering may be more successful.
Research and Citations
Ahlstrom, C. A., Bonnedahl, J., Woksepp, H., Hernandez, J., Olsen, B., & Ramey, A. M. (2018, May 9). Acquisition and dissemination of cephalosporin-resistant E . coli in migratory birds sampled at an Alaska landfill as inferred through genomic analysis. Nature News. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-25474-w.
Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation. (2020, January). Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation Kenai River Fact Sheet January 2020. Kenai.
Bee Built. (n.d.). Top Bar Hives. Bee Built. https://beebuilt.com/pages/top-bar-hives.
Bees tell birds to buzz off: How bumblebees steal birds' nests. (2013, May 28). Retrieved February 10, 2021, from https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130528092122.htm
Boots, M. (2016, June 01). Anchorage landfill hazers battle eagles, Ravens, gulls. Retrieved February 10, 2021, from https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/article/anchorage-landfill-hazers-battle-eagles-ravens-gulls/2012/02/05/
“Nature's Fear Factor.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, 2 Jan. 2021, www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/video/natures-fear-factor/.
Team, W. I. M. (n.d.). Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation Division of Water. Kenai River Beaches Information. https://dec.alaska.gov/water/water-quality/beach-program/kenai-river-beaches-dipnetting-safety
Thinkenstein, & Instructables. (2017, November 05). Beehive in a bucket. Retrieved February 10, 2021, from https://www.instructables.com/Bee-Hive-in-a-Bucket/
Service, U. (2020, May 5). Fact sheet. Retrieved February 10, 2021, from https://www.fws.gov/midwest/eagle/Nhistory/biologue.html
What to do about crows. (n.d.). Retrieved February 10, 2021, from https://www.humanesociety.org/resources/what-do-about-crows
Wolters, C. (2021, February 10). Toxic waste facts and information. Retrieved February 10, 2021, from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/toxic-waste#:~:text=Toxic%20waste%20can%20harm%20people,eat%20fish%20or%20other%20prey.
Yong, E. (2021, February 10). Buzzing bees scare caterpillars away from plants. Science. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/buzzing-bees-scare-caterpillars-away-from-plants.
Interviews:
Dana Mcdonald Central Peninsula head of Infectious Disease
Dr. Christina Ahlstrm USGS
Jack Sinclair, Alaska Department of Fish and game
John Crouse, Alaska Department of Fish and Game
Jordan Muir, Alaska Department of Fish and Game
Mark Laker, National Wildlife Service Officer
Tim Bowman, Alaska Department of Fish and Game
Sarah Aspens, Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation
Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation. (2020, January). Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation Kenai River Fact Sheet January 2020. Kenai.
Bee Built. (n.d.). Top Bar Hives. Bee Built. https://beebuilt.com/pages/top-bar-hives.
Bees tell birds to buzz off: How bumblebees steal birds' nests. (2013, May 28). Retrieved February 10, 2021, from https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130528092122.htm
Boots, M. (2016, June 01). Anchorage landfill hazers battle eagles, Ravens, gulls. Retrieved February 10, 2021, from https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/article/anchorage-landfill-hazers-battle-eagles-ravens-gulls/2012/02/05/
“Nature's Fear Factor.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, 2 Jan. 2021, www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/video/natures-fear-factor/.
Team, W. I. M. (n.d.). Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation Division of Water. Kenai River Beaches Information. https://dec.alaska.gov/water/water-quality/beach-program/kenai-river-beaches-dipnetting-safety
Thinkenstein, & Instructables. (2017, November 05). Beehive in a bucket. Retrieved February 10, 2021, from https://www.instructables.com/Bee-Hive-in-a-Bucket/
Service, U. (2020, May 5). Fact sheet. Retrieved February 10, 2021, from https://www.fws.gov/midwest/eagle/Nhistory/biologue.html
What to do about crows. (n.d.). Retrieved February 10, 2021, from https://www.humanesociety.org/resources/what-do-about-crows
Wolters, C. (2021, February 10). Toxic waste facts and information. Retrieved February 10, 2021, from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/toxic-waste#:~:text=Toxic%20waste%20can%20harm%20people,eat%20fish%20or%20other%20prey.
Yong, E. (2021, February 10). Buzzing bees scare caterpillars away from plants. Science. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/buzzing-bees-scare-caterpillars-away-from-plants.
Interviews:
Dana Mcdonald Central Peninsula head of Infectious Disease
Dr. Christina Ahlstrm USGS
Jack Sinclair, Alaska Department of Fish and game
John Crouse, Alaska Department of Fish and Game
Jordan Muir, Alaska Department of Fish and Game
Mark Laker, National Wildlife Service Officer
Tim Bowman, Alaska Department of Fish and Game
Sarah Aspens, Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation