Reducing Bird Disturbance
© RPS
What is bird disturbance?
Disturbance concerns all maintenance or monitoring operations on power lines and networks likely to impact breeding of certain species. Whether caused by maintenance workers attending to the pylons, or by helicopter flying overhead (e.g. for maintenance, to fit bird flight diverters), all of these activities have the potential to create disturbance.
Large birds of prey, such as Bearded vultures or Osprey but also other species such as Storks, are particularly sensitive to disturbance during their breeding season. This can lead to the temporary or permanent abandonment of the nest, leaving it open to predators, or to unsuccessful breeding.
Therefore, the lack of population growth may eventually lead to the disappearance of those species in the area. This impact will be even more dramatic if the population size is already low.
© RTE
What are the project actions?
SafeLines4Birds aims to reduce disturbance and nest abandonment during breeding season by adapting, where possible, grid maintenance and surveillance in line with the breeding periods of the target species, and thus improve their breeding success.
Flying over breeding sites will be avoided as much as possible, and where possible helicopters will be limited. Operators will be trained to monitor the species more closely.
These actions concern the Bearded vulture, Bonelli’s eagle, Cinereous vulture, Egyptian vulture, White stork and Osprey.
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