Measurable effects of our activities

In 2016, following the receipt from Nature Society of Zamość of their findings from the second season of monitoring overhead power lines conducted under the task D2, we decided to briefly access the efficiency of said task. Listings in tables below are self-explanatory – there were no cases of bird electrocution on PGE power line sections insulated using safety kits. Zdajemy sobie sprawę, że wyciąganie długofalowych wniosków, po zaledwie dwóch sezonach badań jest może zbyt pochopne, ale nawet tak niewielka próba danych napawa nas optymizmem i utwierdza w przekonaniu słuszności naszych działań. W tym miejscu tym bardziej pragniemy podziękować przedsiębiorstwu PGE Dystrybucja S.A. za zaangażowanie w realizację zadania, dzięki której z całą pewnością uda nam się zabezpieczyć znacznie więcej kolizyjnych miejsc niż pierwotnie zakładaliśmy.

 Electric shock protection of birds

Electric shock is among the major causes of death in birds, which use overhead power lines as a resting place when learning to fly or as look-outs when hunting their prey. Among the most frequent victims of such events are birds of prey, which are the species we protect under the project. In order to improve their chances for reproduction, we have planned, in collaboration with PGE Dystrybucja S.A., a pilot regional project of securing locations particularly dangerous to birds.

In order to ensure correct selection of sites for the project, which initially provided for insulation of 100 MV pylons in 2015, during the summer and autumn over 500 km of power lines within and in the close proximity of Natura 2000 areas, had been inspected. Inspections of overhead power lines were carried out on two occasions. The first one in August, and the other one in September. Such a election of dates enabled not only physical penetration of the area under the power line (harvesting cereal crops), but first and foremost increased the probability of finding dead birds.

The harvest enabled the birds of prey access to rodent-rich feeding grounds, significantly increasing their presence in such habitats. In addition, at this time of the year, young birds start to expand outside of their nests, learning to hunt their prey, and using power line pylons as their look-outs. In total, 112 victims of electric shock were observed, among them mostly common buzzards and white storks. Unfortunately, one short-toed snake eagle was found dead under one of MV pylons, near Tyszowice, whose death is particularly painful for the whole population of the species. The task of mounting protections is the model operation in environmental protection area, bringing profits to both birds and men. Cases of bird electrocution often require disconnection of power line sections, which causes onerous and costly interruptions in the supply of electric energy. Therefore, at locations selected by ornithologists, additional safety kits are mounted purchased by PGE Dystrybucja S.A., in addition to safety kits purchased with Project funds. In addition, as the task yielded some savings, and power company personnel committed themselves to collaboration, there are projections assuming increase in the scope of the task in near future.

A brief documentary on the subject pilot project was broadcasted by regional channels of Polish Television, and you can see it on the website of TVP Lublin

Photo 1 Safety kit ready to be mounted on the MV power line pylon.

Photo 2 Safety kit mounted on the pylon.

Photo 3 Mounting security kits by workers from PGE Dystrybucja S.A.

Breeding sites protection

The presence of feeding grounds of the appropriate structure and abundance in food is, apart from the availability of breeding grounds, the most important element of the environment having an effect on the presence of many bird species on a certain area.  

 In recent years, a number of changes unfavourable for birds have been observed in the structure and mode of land use. These changes have particularly strong influence on the two bird species protected under the project, i.e. lesser spotted eagle and short-toed snake eagle. 

These species mainly choose open areas for their feeding grounds - meadows with varying degrees of water content, pastures and wasteland covered with low vegetation.

Very interesting is the fact that in Lublin region a very important feeding place for the lesser spotted eagles is farmland. In the conditions of the region this is characterized by significant fragmentation, a mosaic pattern of crops and large number of tree stands. The use of arable land in order to obtain food is a rarely observed phenomenon in lesser spotted eagles, and therefore conducting the studies concerning habitat selection and the range of feeding grounds of this species has been planned as one of the activities of the project.

Unfortunately, the changes occurring in the current agricultural landscape, displacing the extensive development and changing its structure from mosaic to large-scale, constitute a very large threat to the feeding areas of both species. Large agricultural monocultures used for cultivation are devoid of tree stands and single, solitary trees or shrubs, which represent excellent "lookouts" or observation points for birds of prey. In turn, the abandonment of grazing and mowing meadows leads to their gradual overgrowing with tree and shrub vegetation. In the case of abandoning of using meadows and pastures, they become too overgrown, both for birds and their prey, within a few years. Destructive actions are also drying wetlands or river regulation, leading to the disappearance of natural floodplains as well as the impoverishment of habitats and loss of food basis and breeding grounds of many species of birds.

In order to restore normal feeding conditions for lesser spotted eagle and short-toed snake eagle, we want to recreate at least 100 hectares of unused meadows and pastures within the framework of our project. Meadow re-creation is a classic treatment within the scope of the active protection of feeding grounds of birds which need easy access to their prey and thus relatively short grass. In order to recreate the original condition of these areas, large efforts are required, involving the removal of trees and shrubs, land levelling and the introduction of annual mowing. For the purpose of recreation of the appropriate hunting conditions, extensive grazing of cattle and horses is also practised, which positively influences the structure of the agricultural landscape and increase in the diversity of habitats. The re-creation of meadows and pastures will increase the available food basis and prevent further changes in the landscape.