Power lines are invisible killers for many bird species, but the SafeLines4Birds project is on a mission to change that by revolutionising how we protect birds from deadly collisions and electrocution across Europe’s energy grid. This six-year project (2023–2028), co-financed by the LIFE Programme, aims to reduce the mortality of 13 bird species, including the Bearded Vulture, Cinereous Vulture, and Egyptian Vulture, across France, Belgium, and Portugal. The project focuses on four key goals: reducing bird collisions, preventing electrocution, minimizing disturbance, and improving as well as sharing knowledge across Europe.
How is SafeLines4Birds addressing bird mortality?
Collision with power lines, electrocution while perching and nesting, and disturbance during their breeding season are major threats to some bird species, causing the death of millions of individuals worldwide each year and, in some cases, posing a real threat to population viability (McClure et al., 2018; Guil et al., 2022). Amongst the project’s 13 target species, the Bearded vulture, Cinereous vulture, and Egyptian vulture are the vulture species most impacted by power lines in the countries in focus.
To tackle the collision risk, SafeLines4Birds will install bird flight diverters on 60 km of lines (Firefly, Spheres, and Spirals). Moreover, new devices will be tested, such as the American ultra-violet Avian Collision System Avoidance, which uses UV light to make power lines more visible at night. The performance of the installed devices will also be evaluated using cameras, which will improve mortality rate estimates and inform on bird behaviour around the power lines. In high-risk areas in France, 15 to 20 km of medium-voltage power lines will be placed underground to eliminate the risk of collision and electrocution. The project aims to reduce collision by 75% for the Bearded Vulture and 83% for the Cinereous and the Egyptian Vultures.
To reduce electrocution risk, dangerous power poles will be retrofitted and insulated, 1 800 deterrence devices will be installed, and platforms and perches to protect roosting and nesting individuals. This aims to reduce electrocution by 90 % for the vulture species in targeted sites.
Finally, grid maintenance methodology will be adapted to avoid disturbance and nest abandonment during the breeding season, thus preventing any disturbance to vulture pairs. Flyovers around breeding sites will be avoided as much as possible. Moreover, operators will be trained to monitor the species more closely.
Furthermore, the project will launch a digital and open platform to centralise technical information, enhancing understanding of bird-grid interactions and mitigation measure effectiveness. A communication strategy, featuring website updates, social media, events and videos, will help up replicating the actions and building up a large pool of online resources to be used by various stakeholders. The project is also committed to fostering and enhancing dialogue between the European conservation community and grid operators.
Where are we at today?
In the preparatory year, several actions took place. For example, to study flight behaviour and the effects of power lines on the Black Stork and other protected bird species, 38 juvenile Black Storks were tagged in France. The Black Stork has a home range that allows inferences to be made with other species that share breeding or wintering grounds, such as Egyptian Vultures and Bonelli’s Eagle. The gathered data will further inform their interactions with power grids and lead to better conservation efforts.
In the same year, the SafeLines4Birds project actively shared knowledge through events involving grid operators and environmental NGOs. For example, last year, the Renewables Grid Initiative organised a workshop for civil society entitled ‘Connecting Biodiversity’. This event convened over twenty NGOs from twelve European countries, including the Vulture Conservation Foundation. It aimed to disseminate existing knowledge and address challenges, thereby guiding efforts to mitigate risks to bird populations and contribute to developing a more bird-friendly European grid. The insights gained resulted in an outcome document with guiding points to be considered by decision-makers and will be further discussed with relevant stakeholders at a follow up conference titled “Wingspan – Nature-friendly energy transition” in Brussels from 15 to 17 October 2024. The event aims to bring together grid operators, NGOs, and other key stakeholders worldwide to discuss the importance of collaborations to ensure coexistence of bird species with onshore renewable energy infrastructure.
Looking forward
In 2024, the focus will be on identifying high-risk areas where to implement bird flight diverters to reduce the collision risk and pinpointing high-risk power lines that pose a threat of electrocution to birds. This effort includes creating risk maps in France and Portugal and updating the existing maps in Belgium.
To empower stakeholders, the project will finalise tutorials and training designed for NGOs to help identify dangerous power lines and choose the most effective equipment for preventing avian mortality.
SafeLines4Birds Consortium
The project is coordinated by the Ligue Pour La Protection des Oiseaux (LPO France), the French branch of BirdLife. The other French partners are Enedis (French DSO), RTE (French TSO), LPO Pays De La Loire, LPO Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes, LPO Occitanie and LPO Provence Alpes Côte d’Azur (local NGOs). In Portugal the project partners are SPEA (NGO) and E-Redes (Portuguese DSO), and in Belgium with Natuurpunt, Natagora (NGOs) and Elia (Belgian TSO).
Joining those partners, the Renewables Grid Initiative (RGI) is a Berlin-based NGO and a unique collaboration of environmental NGOs and TSOs across Europe. EDM International, a US-based corporation, brings a team of wildlife biologists and aviation specialists to the consortium. Finally, BIOPOLIS-CIBIO is a Portuguese research centre associated with the University of Porto.
The information in this article was presented at the European Vulture Conference 2023, held from 14 to 17 November in Cáceres, Spain. The event brought together vulture conservationists, researchers, and enthusiasts from around the world to exchange insights, foster collaborations, and explore the latest advances in vulture conservation. Stay tuned as we continue to share more presentations from the conference.
