Power firm twigs to bird nest protection

HAIKOU - With a wire bird cage hanging from his safety harness, Wu Yufeng climbed a 36-meter electricity pylon and fixed the cage, with an artificial bird's nest inside, to the top.

Wu, who works for the China Southern Power Grid subsidiary in Hainan province, has made about 60 such installations over the last three years. "We've just placed six nests, one of which has five eggs in it," said Wu, adding it is breeding season and they must be careful with the nests as eggs and fledglings are often found in them.

To allow birds and infrastructure to coexist, Hainan Power Grid changed its strategy from one of repelling birds to attracting and protecting them. About 3,000 artificial nests have been installed on their transmission lines over the past three years.

With a subtropical climate, Hainan is a paradise for birds. March to July is breeding season, and a large number of birds nest and lay eggs in the province. As the transmission lines often pass through wetlands, ponds and fields, the electricity pylons are ideal places for them to nest.

When birds build nests, twigs and other material they carry can touch wires and cause circuit failures, which creates a maintenance problem.

"We used to install devices to repel birds through ultrasonic waves and spikes, or just remove the nests. However, they did not really work, and birds were frequently injured or even killed by the spikes," said Gao Yisong, a company employee.

To the frustration of maintenance workers, new nests were sometimes built two or three days after the original ones were removed, Gao said.