Bird-diverters installed to save migrating birds

More than 150 special bird-diverters have been installed in Lancashire, with the aim of preventing geese and swans from dying when they collide with power lines. The project will research whether the diverters, which are attachments to the lines that should help to make them visible to birds in flight, are effective.

The research, a partnership between Electricity North West, Lancaster University and the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT), will also look at how agriculture, landscape and weather affect the birds’ flight. The study area is around Martin Mere, in Lancashire, where 30,000 pink-footed geese and 2,500 whooper swans overwinter.

Dr Eileen Rees, head of UK waterbird conservation for the WWT, said: “Tens of thousands of migratory geese and swans make the UK’s wetlands their winter homes. Collisions with power lines are a major cause of death for them, so the WWT is delighted to be working with Electricity North West to make Lancashire, and the UK as a whole, a safer place for them. Through this innovative partnership, we aim to gather evidence for solutions that work in our modern landscape.

The rest of this article appears in the 4th September issue of Shooting Times.

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