State Grid saves storks from danger posed by power lines
Local branch working to keep an endangered species safe in Northeast China
Fastening his safety harness to a pylon, Na Changchun lifted materials and equipment about 30 meters above the ground and started meticulously installing a square protection board.
Two meters above his head was a nest of a family of oriental white storks, with three birdlings resting inside.
This is the sixth time this year that Na, an electrician for State Grid Qiqihar Electric Power in Qiqihar, a city in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang, has installed a protection board on a pylon. The board not only ensures a stable power supply, but also protects the birds from the dangers posed by transmission lines.
Living high on the power towers, the storks sometimes become a headache for the electric power department.
That’s because their acidic droppings increase the possibility of the power supply tripping and may even cause pollution flashover (in which combustible material ignites), posing a risk to the birds’ safety.
Thanks to its vast wetland area, Qiqihar is a paradise for migratory birds. Its Zhalong Wetland Nature Reserve provides a habitat for more than 190 types of rare birds, including red-crowned cranes.
Every year from mid-March, a large number of migratory birds fly in to build nests and raise their young.
The oriental white stork, an endangered migratory species under first-class national protection, is mainly found in the far east of Russia and in Northeast China.
As solitary birds, they like to build nests on isolated trees. Although the wetland in Qiqihar is rich in water and grass, tall trees are rare, so the pylons in the wetland are now the first choice for the storks to settle down.
“The returning oriental white storks were spotted near transmission lines for the first time on March 12, and on March 20 some of them chose the power towers as their homes,” Wang Zhimin, an electrician from the company, said.
This year, Qiqihar’s power towers attracted more than 50 pairs of the birds to build nests, bringing the total number of such nests to more than 110, with each registered with a serial number by company workers.
In a wider context, State Grid Heilongjiang Electric Power Co has launched a campaign in the province to offer better protection for the birds.
In addition to installing protection boards, the company also takes other measures, such as establishing artificial nesting sites and increasing the frequency of patrols along the transmission lines.
In the Wuyuer River Nature Reserve — about 100 kilometers north of the Zhalong reserve — a couple of white poles standing along a row of power towers are conspicuous in the wetland.
“Last winter, State Grid Qiqihar Electric Power, in cooperation with our reserve, built 16 artificial nesting sites in the wetland,” said Zhang Mingyi, an official with the nature reserve, as he pointed at the poles standing high above the ground.
“This year, six pairs of oriental white storks have settled down in them.”
The bowl-shaped nesting sites, which stand 15 meters above the ground on top of the poles, are 2 meters in diameter and 0.6 meters deep. They have strong wind resistance, which makes it easier for the storks to build their nests, Zhang said.
Moreover, the new sites are safer and more comfortable, unlike power towers which may present a danger of electric shock to the birds, he added.
“This winter, the reserve will continue to work with the power department to build new nesting sites for more oriental white storks to improve their living conditions,” he said with a smile.