DTEK Dnipro Grids has installed 25 nesting platforms for storks across the region in 2020
DTEK's stork protection project is a part of our global sustainable development policy and contribution to the UN Global Compact in terms of preserving biodiversity. There is a need to install such special structures, because storks build their homes on electrical poles very often. Nests weight up to 500 kg, and therefore pose a risk to both birds and the stable operation of the power supply system.
“DTEK Dnipro Grids cares about biodiversity conservation and environmental protection in the region. The nest platforms are an important environmental and emergency response activity. Every year we record from 18 to 30 lines outages because birds collide with wires. White storks love to nest on power poles, and therefore they are especially exposed to risk. We have been implementing the bird safety program since 2013. We mounted the first platform in the village of Peschanka, Novomoskovsk District. There are now 162 such safe structures across the region. Most of all are in Tsarichansky, Petropavlovsky, Magdalinovsky Districts”, says Andrii Tereshchuk, DTEK Dnipro Grids CEO.
Such artificial nesting platforms are basket-shaped made of metal rods. They are lifted together with the nests to the height, and mounted on electric poles above the electrical wires. This design prevents the heavy nest from sliding down on the line. It protects the nest from destruction, birds from electric shock, and lines from short circuits and unplanned outages.
The nesting platforms could be installed in autumn and winter, when storks immigrate to warm countries. We are looking for new nesting sites during annual line inspections, and both birdwatchers and locals help us.
“Storks come to our village every spring,” says Anastasia Kobzareva, a resident of the village of Pisarivka, Sinelnikovsky District. - They nest near houses and are not at all afraid of people: they often go down into the courtyard and walk freely. This year, a young family of storks built a new nest on an electrical pole and even had two baby birds. Thanks to the power engineers, they moved their nest to the platform and made it safe. We expect that these wonderful birds will be back from warm lands next spring, and they will settle down in their new home”.
You can find a video about the installation of two platforms in the village of Pisarivka here.
In addition to stork nests, DTEK's power engineers install reflective diverters on high-voltage lines, which make the line visible to birds in flight. Thus, more than 1,200 of these protective devices were installed within the Bulakhovsky Liman reserve, Pavlograd Region. They also set up wooden and metal nests for the Red Book Klintukh pigeon, which chose electric poles for nesting, and Scops owls of the Dneprovsko-Orel reserve. They also mount special casings on insulators and wires to make them safe for birds and eliminate the risk of power outages for customers.