Note: photos from USGS
For birds, and raptors especially, power lines crisscrossing rural and wilderness areas are both a tool and a danger. Poles and structures are usually one of tallest elements and often within or on the edge of human created clearings – small mammal paradise and a raptor feast.
As big raptor fan, I often wondered if those powerlines were killing raptors and other birds. Asking myself if there was some way to make those highly electrified lines and towers less appealing to the birds. A study done by Boise State University and the US Geological Survey has an answer – the official post, the newspaper article (Idaho Capital Sun). I held on to the article for a couple of weeks to see if other media would publish – I saw NYT and heard an NPR story on the topic as well.
The study found over 400 dead birds along powerlines with the support of Idaho Power, and their results were astounding, at least to me. Quote from USGS below:
The team was able to determine the cause of death for 175 of those birds, of which 66% died from gunshot. Many of the birds shot were species protected by state and federal laws, including bald eagles, golden eagles, and several species of hawks. As such, these shootings were illegal. By comparison, death by electrocution and collisions were split almost evenly at around 17% of each.
“These results demonstrate that illegal shooting of birds along power lines is much more common and a more significant threat to bird conservation than we thought,” said co-author Todd Katzner, U.S. Geological Survey Supervisory Research Wildlife Biologist and Thomason’s graduate advisor. “Death by shooting has been shown to impact population growth of some species, including golden eagles, but we didn’t know it is relevant to so many species across a such a large geographic area.”
https://www.usgs.gov/news/national-news-release/illegal-shooting-along-power-lines-a-leading-cause-death-bald-eagles
It’s one thing to hike through the woods and cross under these powerlines and be struck full face with human artifacts where they should not be. It’s another knowing they kill birds. But, to learn that stupid humans are a great risk to birds is frustrating, to say the least.