top of page
Effectiveness of bird deflectors on high-voltage overhead lines: Case studies and implications for minimizing the approach risk

Type of publication

Peer reviewed

Author

Bernhausen et al.

Organisation type

Private firm

Year

2014

Language

German

Publicly available

Yes

Organisation

TNL Umweltplanung

Country of experiment

Germany

Description

Using a before-and-after comparison the study investigated the effectiveness of black and white "bird-deflectors" fixed at the ground wire in three different areas with differing habitats. For geese, sea gulls, waterfowl and cormorants the results showed a reduction of the collision risk of more than 90 %. This high efficiency might be reduced if there are specific characteristics – such as preferred headings, perhaps even back light, height of the flight or behaviour compared to the course of the line, or parallel lines.

Nevertheless the marking of the ground wire is usually regarded as suitable measure for minimisation, in terms of legal species conservation as well as for the avoidance of significant impairment referring to the Habitats Directive. However, each individual case has still to be investigated and justified specif- ically in terms of the aspects addressed. Beside an assessment of the avifaunistic risk there is the option to improve the efficiency of the measures in very sensitive areas or for particularly rare species, e.g. by reducing the distance of the markings, additional signals and a reduction of flights by minimising disturbance in the area.

Target species

Multi-species

Key words
LifeLogo

Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or CINEA. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

Manfred-von-Richthofen-Straße 4, 12101 Berlin, Germany

  • LinkedIn
  • gfds.de-bluesky-butterfly-logo

© 2023 SafeLines4Birds

LIFE21-NAT-FR-101073826 SafeLines4Birds

bottom of page