By NOEL MURPHY
CAMPAIGNERS against microlight aircraft operations at the Bellarine Peninsula’s Swan Bay have gathered some 800 signatures arguing the airfield will endanger breeding sea eagles in the area.
The protesters will lobby Bellarine MP Llisa Neville and Geelong mayor Darryn Lyons to reject the plans by Bay City Microlights for the base, on a Swan Bay farm.
“As well as the parent birds, two fledglings have been observed in the nest on the shores of Swan Bay,” campaign organiser Wendy Oliver said.
“The white-bellied sea eagle is one of our most endangered bird species. It is estimated that there only 100 pairs left in Victoria, where it is listed as ‘threatened’.
“The white-bellied sea eagle is sensitive to disturbance when nesting and may desert nests and young if confronted by humans or exposed to human activity.
“The eagles have a flight path of several kilometres when foraging for food. That flight path lies along the foreshore of Swan Bay.”
Ms Oliver claimed a microlight airfield within 2km of the nest and right beside the birds’ foraging flight path would create a significant risk of disturbance. In addition to noise, white-bellied sea eagles saw aircraft as potential predators, she said.
“Although the applicant has proposed a number of conditions designed to avoid disturbance, these are not deemed to be sufficient to guarantee the survival and proliferation of these birds,” she said.
“And these conditions are seen as impossible to enforce – particularly for external pilots using this proposed airfield.”
Microlight aircraft have oversized hang-glider style wings and an aircraft engine, similar to those used in ultralight planes.
