Recently, the Spoonbill Working Group received a question about the possibility of equipping a spoonbill, about to be released after a period of care in a bird rescue center, with a unique color ring combination. As a working group, we responded positively to this request. Fortunately, it is not very common for spoonbills to end up in a bird rescue center, but we now have an example of a spoonbill that, after release and a period of care in a bird rescue center, has survived for at least 3 years. This concerns a young spoonbill, presumably from a small spoonbill colony in the vicinity of Oegstgeest, which was brought to a bird rescue center in The Hague in early August 2019.

After care at the bird rescue center “De Wulp” in The Hague, this bird was ringed on September 24, 2019, with a white color ring inscribed NA3D on the left tibia and a metal ring with ring number 8066167 on the right tibia, and then released in the Poelgeest polder near Warmond.

This spoonbill spent that autumn and the following winter regularly in Zeeland. Apparently, this bird did not migrate further south because throughout the year 2020, it was regularly observed, especially in various locations on Walcheren. What this bird did in 2021 is not yet known, but we recently received a report that this spoonbill has now moved to the Wadden Sea area. On September 13, 2023, NA3D was sighted in the Westerplas on Schiermonnikoog. And now we’ll have to wait and see what the future holds for this bird. The above brings me to the question of how spoonbills end up in a bird rescue center. They are remarkable birds, and if a bird behaves somewhat strangely, not foraging in the usual manner or resting quietly among a group of fellow birds, that tends to be noticed fairly quickly. There are examples of spoonbills getting entangled in fishing lines with hooks while foraging, which can limit or prevent their ability to forage, and if such a bird cannot be freed from that situation in time, it will result in death.

But there are more dangers for our spoonbills (and of course, many other bird and animal species). I’m thinking in particular of overhead power lines and wind farms that are increasingly appearing even in regions where migratory birds like spoonbills pass through in spring and autumn on their way to their breeding grounds and wintering areas. Overhead power lines cannot always be laid underground, and if they must be above ground, we believe that not enough consideration is given to taking measures to help prevent bird strikes.

On migratory bird routes, Fireflies must be installed on planned or an already existing high-voltage power line, including on the upper line. Fireflies have been proven to be the best method against collisions. They are easy to see during the day, make noise and, which is very important in the case of spoonbills, can also be seen at night. It has been proven that these Fireflies can be attached to existing power lines with a drone. To make wind turbines more visible, work is already being done here and there to provide one of the blades of the wind turbines with a black tip. It may work during the day, but we don’t know about research on this and it doesn’t help in the fog. In any case, we know from the data of our transmitter birds that they fly into wind turbines. In fog and at night, windmills are a great danger. A red or white flashing light is often installed on wind turbines, but that light is placed in the middle of the windmill and not on the blades. So whether this will deter birds flying by is the question. We are not aware of any research on this either. In any case, red light is not perceived by birds at all.

It is important, in any case, to conduct systematic research on wire strike victims of overhead power lines and bird strikes with wind farms as much as possible. The chance of birds surviving such a collision is quite small, but if survivors are found with a chance of survival, which can be released after a period of care in a bird rescue center, it is definitely worth marking these birds with a unique color ring combination. This allows this bird to be individually tracked throughout its life and also contributes to information regarding the survival chances of birds after a period of care in a bird rescue center.

SafeLines4Birds

In this context, the Life project “SafeLines4Birds” is also interesting, which is co-financed by the life program of the European Union. The project lasts for 6 years and aims to drastically reduce the number of victims of 13 bird species with overhead power lines in France, Belgium, and Portugal.

Why is this an important project?

The above-ground electricity network poses a serious threat to some bird species. Birds can fly into these lines or be electrocuted. But maintenance work during the breeding season can also cause disturbances. Annually, this problem in Europe alone causes millions of casualties. For some rare(r) species, this even poses a serious threat at the population level. The Life project focuses on 13 target species that are most adversely affected by the presence of overhead lines in France, Belgium, and Portugal. These include little bustard, bearded vulture, Spanish imperial eagle, cinereous vulture, griffon vulture, lesser kestrel, osprey, common crane, white stork, black stork, woodcock, Eurasian curlew, and northern lapwing. (Note: The Netherlands and the spoonbill are not mentioned in this context!).

SafeLines4Birds has four main goals:

• reduce the number of collisions or ‘impacts’ with power lines
• reduce the number of electrocutions
• provide less disturbance
• increase knowledge (sharing) about these threats
  

Who are the partners?

The success of all these actions will be determined by the collaboration of the 15 partners that make up the consortium. This consortium consists of transmission system operators (TSOs), distribution system operators (DSOs), non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and scientific experts from France, Belgium, Portugal, Germany, and the United States of America. (Note: Again, it is noticeable that the Netherlands is not participating in this context! Reason?)

Source: natuurpunt.be