Why storks in northern Saxony choose electricity pylons as nesting places!

Why storks in northern Saxony choose electricity pylons as nesting places!

A very special stork summer is taking place in the Mockrehna district of Klitzschen this year, with its rare special features keeping the technicians from the network operator Mitnetz Strom really busy. Storks typically nest on traditional breeding sites, but the current preferences of this pair of storks have led to an increase in nesting attempts on utility poles. This is reported by the lvz.de.

Although the pair of storks have a well-established nest on the church roof, they have tried in vain four times this year to build their breeding site on various electricity pylons. The local mayor Olaf Zenker is astonished by the repeated, unsuccessful attempts and points out that this is not the storks' habit.

Dangers for storks and electricity supply

In order to protect the storks from dangers such as electric shocks and to avoid disruptions in the power supply, Mitnetz Strom has installed defense stars on four masts. Critical site analyzes have shown that such nesting attempts are also occurring more frequently in other areas, such as Kleinforst and Großzschepa. The aim is to keep the storks away from dangerous breeding grounds and to offer alternative nesting places, which has already been successfully implemented over 700 times in northern Saxony.

Electricity pylons are tempting, but they also pose a risk to the bird population. This is also evident in Peiting, where a pair of storks were recently separated from their nest on a power pole. The Lechwerke had to act quickly and removed the nest and two eggs. The State Association for Bird Protection explained that a nest on a power pole is sometimes unavoidable, but safety for people and animals is always the priority merkur.de is reported.

Measures and challenges

In Großröhrsdorf, a nest was removed in mid-May, while residents like Thomas Adler were unhappy about the abrupt measures. But the decision to quickly dismantle the inappropriate nest was justified by possible damage to the electricity pylons and injuries to the storks. A spokeswoman for Sachsenenergie emphasized that such an approach was not the rule. Normally, nests would be avoided in advance, otherwise the removal would be done in consultation with the authorities, but in this case this was not the case due to the pressure of an acute danger tagesschau.de notes.

The situation of the storks in Northern Saxony reflects the challenges that continually arise when humans and nature coexist. As the storks continue to try their ancient traditions, measures must be taken to both ensure their safety and protect the infrastructure.