As part of the PowerLines4Birds project, regular monitoring of power lines is planned, which is carried out during the four most important phenological seasons for birds: Breeding, Dispersal, Migration, and Wintering. Power line monitoring serves to identify the risks that power lines pose to birdlife and to assess the effectiveness of conservation measures such as cable insulation and the installation of warning signs on power lines. Through monitoring, teams are able to map incidents of mortality due to collision and electrocution in order to identify and propose corrections to power lines that are dangerous to the project's target species. Monitoring consists of walking kilometers of power lines in search of evidence of bird mortality indicating collision and/or electrocution with power lines. Subsequently, depending on the condition and type of evidence found (carcass, bones, or feathers), it is identified in the field or in the office using guides, tables, keys, and even an online calculator to aid in identification. All data collected is recorded in a project database that is shared among the team and serves as an aid for decision-making.
With interventions in 14 Special Protection Areas (SPAs) in Portugal, LPN, SPEA, and Quercus are joining forces to monitor power lines from north to south of the country. At this time of year, monitoring corresponds to the birds' dispersal season (May to July). In the south, during this period, LPN has ensured monitoring in 5 SPAs: Mourão/Moura/Barrancos, Vale do Guadiana, Piçarras, Castro Verde, and Costa Sudoeste.
Over the last three months (May, June, and July), the LPN team, together with volunteers, monitored approximately 61 km of power lines and 270 pylons belonging to 23 power lines. During these actions, 21 bird mortality records were identified, most of them (17) due to collision.
This work relies on the invaluable help of volunteers and interns who have been with us since the beginning of the project. During this period, we were joined by volunteers Niklas, Mariana T., Jéssica, Miguel, Joana, Mariana A., Luís, Vitor, and Fernanda, whom we must commend, given the sometimes demanding conditions, whether due to the heat or the countless fences that had to be climbed over. Their collaboration makes all the difference.
The monitoring carried out by Quercus between June and July, which covers part of the juvenile dispersal season, resulted in approximately 98 km of power lines being surveyed, encompassing 225 power poles. Of these, 40 km have already been corrected with anti-electrocution and anti-collision measures. The SPAs targeted in these monitoring activities were Tejo Internacional in Castelo Branco, Veiros in Estremoz, Vila Fernando in Elvas, and Campo Maior.
The high temperatures forced us to adopt a different schedule than usual, starting earlier in the morning but leaving the afternoon free for a well-deserved rest. Once again, the support of volunteers is a great help in these monitoring activities, so a big thank you to Alice, Mariana, and Henrique!
In total, during these two months of prospecting, 11 occurrences of bird mortality were recorded, 6 due to electrocution and 5 due to collision.
SPEA monitored approximately 26.75 km of uncorrected power lines in two Special Protection Areas (SPAs) in Trás-os-Montes – Douro Internacional and Vale do Águeda e Vale do Côa – recording only 1 electrocution and 3 collisions, which demonstrates a low incidence of critical situations in these areas. This work was only possible thanks to the commitment of our intern Nacho and volunteers Alejandro and Matilde, who traversed the region's rugged terrain and endured high temperatures to ensure the success of the monitoring.
The LIFE PowerLines4Birds project is co-financed by the European Union's LIFE Program and aims to reduce the impact of power lines through electrocution and collision in the Iberian Peninsula for seven priority bird species that are highly vulnerable to these threats.
The partners in this project are the League for the Protection of Nature (LPN), the Portuguese Society for the Study of Birds (SPEA), QUERCUS - National Association for Nature Conservation, the Spanish Ornithological Society (SEO/Birdlife) and E-Redes.
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