It’s a sight often seen in South Africa, a flock of birds perching on power lines at sunset nesting down for the night. This scene makes for beautiful photos indeed, but it actually has far-reaching impacts for both the birds and for electricity providers across the country.

Birds cause havoc with power lines and transmission structures in a variety of ways and thanks to habitat destruction and the highly populated nature of our cities and towns, birds often see these transmission structures as happy places to nest or land, when in fact they are not.

What is a bird guard?

A bird guard is a barrier which prevents birds from perching on transmission structures. It is a simple structure with consists of a square base with upright prongs made from hard-wearing, weather-proof, non-conductive material. Bird guards are manufactured in a variety of sizes depending on the needs of the power utility and on the size of the lines being protected.

Why are bird guards necessary?

Birds cause damage and power outages in a multitude of ways when they land or nest on power structures, namely:

  • Bird streamers – birds can cause flashovers or line faults from the long streams of excreta or waste that they produce. Bird streamers are the major cause of faults on transmission lines.
  • Bird pollution – similar to streamers, when birds excrete on power lines, flashovers can occur when the insulator string gets wet and breaks down. The most critical times when these faults occur is during the bird’s natural quiet times like early evening and before dawn, as the birds come home to nest for the night.
  • Habitat destruction – due to a lack of nesting sites likes trees and cliffs in populated areas and because their natural habitat was destroyed or moved during the erection of power lines, birds tend to choose to nest on electricity structures. Depending on the bird, they use twigs, branches and large sticks to make their nests on the sturdy structures. The sticks and branches can cause flashovers on the lines and even result in the nests catching fire. This is extremely harmful to the birds and their chicks but can also be a fire hazard if the burning nest falls to the ground or the veld below.
  • Species protection – certain bird species are at a higher risk of dying from electrocution on power lines or in some cases as a result of a shock by the flashovers. These tend to be bigger birds of prey like vultures, eagles and herons due to their size and wing span. Many of these birds are on conservation watch as their numbers in the wild are dwindling.

What are the benefits and advantages of installing bird guards?

It certainly is in the interest of electricity providers to install bird guards on new and existing transmission structures for a number of reasons:

  • To avoid flashovers and faults which would result in power outages to local communities being served.
  • To lower maintenance costs and costs of fixing the structures and lines after flashovers.
  • To prevent birds (especially larger birds) from nesting on the transmission structures.
  • To help prevent deaths of birds due to electrocution and fire.
  • To positively impact the conservation of many bird species especially larger birds of prey.

For more information on bird guards and the benefits to installing them, contact the specialists in the manufacture and installing of top-quality bird guards today. Call BeeTee Projects on 011 894 5573 or check out our website at www.beeteeprojects.co.za