Power lines & raptors

Power poles and pylons are a favorite and convenient perch for birds of prey, which use them to spot their prey on the ground below. Their size and wingspan easily make simultaneous contact with multiple power line elements, receiving fatal shocks.

For large birds, electrocution and collisions may even contribute to the decline of a species or subpopulation of a species. Up to 10,000 birds of prey are electrocuted on power lines and 100,000s of collisions may occur PER COUNTRY in the African-Eurasian region

Specifically, all 6-10 kV overhead power lines possessing exposed wires that are not correctly outfitted with modern and effective bird protective devices (BPDs) are dangerous for birds.

The majority of 6-10 kV overhead power lines in Kazakhstan are not equipped with bird-protective devices.

Collisions occur when flying birds collide with unseen overhead wires. While birds that live in flocks and/or with poor maneuverability in flight are most vulnerable, almost any type of bird can collide with overhead power lines when visibility is poor. Peculiarities of raptor vision make them especially vulnerable.

Birds sometimes build their nests on overhead line supports, seeing them as “trees” in places where trees are scarce or unsuitable. Energy utility companies sometimes remove nests, killing chicks.

On the ground, the chicks become easy prey for predators. In other countries, including the United States, energy industry best practices are to properly equip power lines to prevent electrocution and encourage nesting in the safest way possible on the poles.

All stakeholders—electricity utilities, governments, scientists, and civil society—must balance the infrastructure development and energy distribution with mitigating dangers to wildlife.

• Electricity utilities: equip or retrofit power lines with simple devices to reduce collisions and electrocutions and comply with existing regulations
• Governments: solicit input, develop, enact, and enforce national standards for the protection of birds consistent with earlier published documents of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
• Regulatory authorities: develop, publish, and update regulatory requirements to minimize risks to birds and ensure compliance
• Civil society: demand that electricity infrastructure and supply systems are efficient and safe for wildlife and respectful of the environment

Ongoing education is helpful for all stakeholders to understand the issues, consider potential solutions, and develop balanced decision-making with input from all stakeholders.

Kazakhstan has a number of laws and regulations intended to ensure responsible planning, construction, and operation of infrastructure—to include the electric grid—toward preserving wildlife habitats, breeding conditions, and migration routes, and protecting fragile raptor and other species’ populations.

However, these legislative measures lack specific information on actions the owner of a hazardous power line must take and how to monitor implementation. As a result, each company has its own way of interpreting how to ensure power line “safety”, which can include inaction.

Technical regulatory documentation used by power engineers and designers fails to outline specific bird safety requirements. This gap means that the electric utility company acts only when the regulatory authority describes and enforces compliance.

Combined with failures in oversight, inadequate and weak legislative measures means that countless electric utility poles (6-10kV) are still bird-hazardous. Electricity distribution infrastructure stretches for many thousands of kilometers across Kazakhstan, making the challenge of retrofitting the poles and regular inspections (including bird safety) even more difficult.

Ornithologists and conservationists must work together to understand this problem and identify mitigation strategies. Among the many things they do, researchers and conservation-minded community members:

• survey tens of thousands of square kilometers of raptor habitat, tracking nesting, proximity to utility lines and towers, mortality, and other important data;
• band birds and/or tag birds with data loggers to track specific individual movements;
• document electrocuted birds and work with government agencies to collect fines and ensure industry compliance;
• collaborate with cellular and electrical utilities to encourage them to properly equip and maintain transmission lines and towers with effective bird-protective devices, and
• partner with government and industry to strengthen energy and environmental policy, law, and regulations to preserve avian biodiversity.

Eurasian Wildlife and Peoples supports the work of raptor ornithologists and wildlife conservation organizations as outlined above.  Additionally, we organize conferences and other information exchanges that bring together leading avian experts and technical professionals for discussions on protecting raptor populations from electrocution and other overhead power line hazards. Most recently, the “Eagles of the Palearctic: Study and Protection” conference, held in Almaty in September 2023, included a session focusing on power line electrocution and other risks posed to raptors.

Work to make power lines bird safe—whether retrofitting older, bird-hazardous lines or ensuring new lines are properly planned and built—must be ongoing. In addition to making power lines safer for larger birds, these efforts will support the bottom line of energy utilities and generate enthusiastic support in communities that value biodiversity and live alongside these beautiful birds.