Eighteen Whooper Swans Die in Power Line Collision in Cambridgeshire

A wildlife officer has reported the discovery of eighteen deceased whooper swans in a field, believed to have died after colliding with power lines. The birds were found on Saturday on farmland situated between Chatteris and Somersham in Cambridgeshire. UK Power Networks, the entity responsible for maintaining the power lines, confirmed its awareness of the incident and indicated plans to explore the installation of bird diverters. Kane Brides, a researcher for the Waterbird Colour-marking Group, who located the dead birds, voiced apprehension that proposals for additional pylon installations in East Anglia present “further risks of collisions.” He stated, “This is a worry for our waterbird species.” He further emphasized, “We need to work with power companies to ensure that lines are sited in the most suitable locations, i.e. away from major waterbird gathering areas.” Brides also noted, “With the feeding distribution of the swans changing every year in relation to the harvest, it’s difficult to predict where collisions may occur.” Mr. Brides specified that the deceased birds were found in a harvested maize field where over 2,000 whooper swans were feeding. A spokesperson for UK Power Networks stated that the company would not elaborate on this specific incident without an investigation, but added that such occurrences were “rare.” The spokesperson further remarked, “UK Power Networks has installed multiple stretches of bird diverters in the eastern region over recent years, with the majority across the Cambridgeshire fenlands, and also around Mildenhall in Suffolk and Wissington and Hilgay in Norfolk.” They explained, “The diverters make the cables more visible to big birds with poor eyesight that need long take-off and landing paths and cannot suddenly turn away at the last moment.” The spokesperson concluded, “As a result, the birds steer clear of the cables and fewer power cuts are caused by their collisions, improving the resilience of the electricity network for local residents.” The company reported that in 2021, more than 4,000 diverters were installed on power lines across the East of England. Most whooper swans observed in the UK typically migrate from Iceland for the winter months. Due to their small breeding numbers, the species is categorized as amber on the Birds of Conservation Concern list.