Cathy Boyles scans the airfield from her pickup truck at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. She’s on the watch for any animals or debris that might obstruct the planes coming and going.
As she drives, listens and responds to the air traffic control scanner, Boyles points to an American Kestrel hovering low above a grass median. She said the bird is the smallest North American falcon and an insectivore that sometimes goes for small mammals.
“It’s one of the few birds that can hover without using the wind to do so,” she said. “Very fast, very cool little birds.”
Boyles is a UTA alumna and former Honors College faculty worker. As wildlife director for DFW Airport, her job is a daily adventure. It’s her responsibility to make sure the skies are safe for planes, birds and mammals too.
Among the wildlife of the airport habitat, there are falcons, vultures, doves, coyotes and maybe the occasional raccoon or skunk. If an animal finds itself on or near the runway, it’s her job to keep it away. Oftentimes, when a bird collides with a plane, it’s also her job to pick up the remains. She also makes sure to keep track of each animal she finds. This helps her document the patterns of migration or any unusual activity.
Her daily routine starts early. After each flight, she and her team comb the runway in a fleet of pickups to ensure it’s safe for the next take off. Her team is made up of about 30 people who make sure roughly 6,900 acres of runway are safe for air traffic. This work requires an incredible level of coordination from Boyles and the rest of her team.
Boyles never thought she’d end up doing a job like this, where instead of encouraging a habitat for nature, she works to minimize any wildlife for air travel.
Still, it’s an important job she takes pride in doing.
“I guess I saw myself doing other things but I’m always most comfortable with nature,” she says. “And it’s very weird that being at DFW Airport my job is kind of the opposite of what I sort of envisioned a career in wildlife management would be.”
Before she got this job, Boyles graduated with her master’s in Biology at UT Arlington. She also did research at the electron microscopy lab here and worked closely with the Honors College.
But growing up, she always knew she wanted to work with animals. Nature drove her passion that led to her career. She spent much of her childhood at her grandfather’s farm in Wisconsin.
“I’ve always loved being outside – always,” she said. “I always thought it was normal for a young person to get up at the crack of dawn and be out in the wilderness.”
Early on, she wanted to be a horse jockey – then a veterinarian. When that didn’t pan out, she decided to work in academia. When she moved to Texas with her family, she became very involved on campus, working at different departments for about ten years until she found her current job DFW. And she loves her job.
What matters most to Boyles is the stability. Still, she says working with the Honors College taught her valuable lessons that stick with her today.
“It’s not necessarily being outside that is part of the fulfilling part of my career,” she said. “It’s getting to take ownership of something and making it as good as you can make it and always challenging yourself, being active and searching for ways to improve the job you’re doing.”
Boyles expects to continue working at the airport until she retires. But until then, she’ll stay a Maverick of the airfield.