Several high- and medium-voltage power lines within the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve (DDBR) have been fitted with bird warning devices, and 100 medium-voltage poles identified as hazardous to birds have been insulated against electrocution, the DDBR Administration (ARBDD) announced on Monday in a press release.

In total, bird warning devices have been installed along 36 kilometres of power lines in Tulcea and Constanta counties. In addition to insulating the 100 medium-voltage poles, the international LIFE Danube Free Sky project, coordinated by ARBDD, has equipped six juvenile Dalmatian pelicans with transmitters to identify sections of power lines that pose collision and electrocution risks within their nesting and feeding areas.

‘To prevent the risk of bird electrocution, nearly 300 insulating sleeves have also been fitted to cover sections of electrical conductors near the poles, where birds sometimes perch to rest,’ said Mihai Peste, CEO of Retele Electrice Romania, cited in the press release.

The EU co-financed international project, coordinated in Romania by ARBDD, has also installed 100 artificial nests for the priority species, the European Roller.

‘The sections of power lines equipped with flight diversion devices and the insulated poles are being monitored to assess the effectiveness of the risk-reduction measures. Birds do not recognise borders, so it is essential that protection activities are implemented systematically at a transnational level. Our project is an example of this approach, and we look forward to taking the final steps with our partners to successfully complete the project activities next year,’ said Bogdan Ioachim Bulete, Governor of the reserve.

The international LIFE Danube Free Sky project, launched in September 2020, covers 23 bird protection areas and nine important bird zones, bringing together fifteen organisations for bird conservation, energy companies, national parks, and a railway company from seven Danube riparian countries. It is coordinated internationally by Raptor Protection of Slovakia. AGERPRES (RO – writing by: Luisiana Bigea; EN – writing by: Simona Iacob)