Jilin Province is located in the central part of Northeast China, with rich vegetation resources and numerous rivers and lakes. Jilin Province is one of the important passages for migratory birds in China. Recently, entrusted by the State Grid's "Migratory Bird Lifeline" project, the Research Office of China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation (CBCGDF) sent researchers to Jilin to investigate the relationship between birds and powerlines.

The State Grid "Lifeline for Migratory Birds" project is a national public welfare project carried out by the State Grid Public Welfare Foundation and CBCGDF and other bird protection organizations, focusing on rare birds such as the oriental white stork and black-necked crane as the main protection objects. At present, the "Lifeline for Migratory Birds" project has successively carried out habitat research, volunteer training, patrolling and rescue work in 17 project sites.

Changling County is located in the west of Jilin Province, which is the transition zone of agriculture and grassland pastoral areas. There is Longfenghu Provincial Nature Reserve, and its rich wetland resources have made it a place where many birds stop and inhabit during migration.

On the morning of July 19, researchers came to Changling Longfeng Lake Provincial Nature Reserve for investigation. Later, the investigators came to the tower in Beizheng Town. Because of the rain a few days ago, the area turned into a swamp, and the investigators could not get close to observe. Seen through the drone, the habitat types here include farmland, wetland, water area, grassland, etc. Point the camera at the bird's nest directly above the middle-phase insulator, and to the surprise of all the staff and researchers: there are three unhatched eggs in the nest of the oriental white stork on the line tower. Asked about the possible reasons, the staff of the reserve said that birds are particularly sensitive to the surrounding environment during the breeding period, especially when some young birds are breeding for the first time. It is possible to make it abandon the nest. In order to prevent birds from moving on the line tower, State Grid staff installed protective devices such as bird-proof thorns and bird-repelling plates on the line tower. According to reports, there are relatively few birds in this area, and there have been no bird-related faults on this line in recent years.

Finally, the investigators came to Xianghai National Nature Reserve in Tongyu County. The reserve is a nature reserve of the type of inland wetland and water ecosystem with the main purpose of protecting rare waterfowl such as red-crowned cranes and rare plant communities such as Mongolian yellow elm. With a total area of 105,467 hectares, the reserve is located on the East Asia-Australasia bird migration passage, which is the most important of the eight bird migration passages in the world. There are great bustards, oriental white storks, black storks, red-crowned cranes, white cranes and other rare birds in the area. According to the monitoring by researchers from the Xianghai Conservation Bureau, last year Xianghai ushered in tens of thousands of birds, including more than 1,300 oriental white storks, and 10 pairs bred in the reserve, giving birth to a total of 35 chicks. According to the staff of the State Grid, the company cooperated with the reserve to build two attracting nests in the reserve using materials from waste electric poles, one of which attracted oriental white storks and successfully bred them.

During the investigation, the researchers also carried out trainings on the habits, behavioral characteristics, distribution characteristics of important birds, and bird-related fault protection measures for front-line electric power employees, and held exchanges and discussions.

It is understood that there are relatively few bird-related faults in the Changling and Tongyu Xianghai areas. Among them, the main type of conflict between Changling birds and 220kV and below transmission lines is guano; in view of the impact of birds on the line, the company mainly adopts anti-bird thorns, bird repellents and other protective devices. In recent years, bird-related faults have occurred on average 2-3 times a year. In order to protect the rare oriental white stork, the company will also organize employees to carry out activities related to bird protection during the "Bird Love Week".

In the Xianghai area of Tongyu, the rich vegetation and wetland resources in the Xianghai Reserve provide an important habitat and breeding ground for oriental white storks and other birds. Conflict between birds and transmission lines is not fierce. According to the staff of State Grid Yuxian Power Supply Company, no oriental white storks have been found nesting on transmission line towers in the area so far. To ensure the safety of the line, the company has adopted protective devices such as bird thorns to protect key parts.

Translator: Maggie

Editor: Maggie

Checked by: Irene     

Contact: v10@cbcgdf.org; +8617319454776

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