Initiatives dedicated to the conservation of rare birds: the white stork, the saker falcon or the Dalmatian pelican

White stork. Photo by Doru Panaitescu

At Rețele Electrice România, we support biodiversity through a multitude of projects dedicated to the protection of bird species included on the Red List, which we find in the areas where we are present – Banat, Dobrogea, and Muntenia. White stork, saker falcon, roller bird, and Dalmatian pelican are some of the birds protected by law for which we have installed nest supports or anti-electrocution and anti-collision devices. Find out more about our sustainability initiatives below.

The white stork

Evey summer, the stork census is taking place, a project that has reached its eight edition and is carried out by the Romanian Ornithological Society (SOR) with the support of the PPC companies in Romania, through the application “Look at the stork!”. Nature lovers are thus invited to take part in the fascinating adventure of counting the white storks that return to us in the warm season from Africa to nest here from March to September. They settle mainly in or near populated areas in regions with high humidity, such as the Danube Plain, near large rivers and in intramontane depressions. And that’s not all! Because every nest has its own story, the public is invited to share these stories by responding to the ‘Nest stories’ initiative, where we look for and reward the most inspiring messages.

While in the past stork nests were mostly seen in old trees or on the roofs of houses, with electrification, electricity poles have become the preferred nesting place. This makes it all the more important to involve electricity distribution companies in protecting this widespread species in Romania, where up to 6.000 nesting pairs are usually found.

As early as 2010, we started to install nesting boxes for storks, and more than 900 have been installed to date. In addition, about 6,500 poles in Banat, Dobrogea, and Muntenia have been fitted with electrically insulating sheaths. In this way, we manage to reduce the risk of electrocution for any kind of bird passing through the area, not only for storks.

Since 2020, in Dobrogea we have been involved in the transnational project Life “Danube Free Sky”, which follows on from Life “DANUBEparksCONNECTED”. The project involved inventorying overhead lines located in the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve, pre-monitoring actions, as well as pilot activities against collision by marking the main power lines crossing the Danube. “Danube Free Sky” runs until 2026 and is being implemented in seven Danube countries: Austria, Croatia, Hungary, Slovakia, Serbia, Bulgaria and Romania. More than 245 kilometres of priority power lines will be made more visible and more than 3.200 electricity poles that pose an electrocution risk to birds will be insulated in the targeted areas.

In Romania, the project is coordinated by the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve Administration (ARBDD), and within its framework, our company is developing actions to prevent bird strikes and electrocution. Anti-collision equipment is being installed on 35 km of medium and high-voltage lines. It is planned that 100 poles on medium-voltage lines will be equipped with insulating sheaths against electrocution, which will give priority to 12 species of nesting birds, including the stork. Rețele Electrice Romania has already installed over 1,500 diverters in Dobrogea to date and isolated 60 medium voltage poles.

Also as part of the Danube Free Sky project, for the first time in our country, warnings for large-winged birds such as storks will be drone-mounted.

The roller bird

To protect the roller bird, the Danube Delta Biosphere Administration will install 85 artificial wooden nests on the medium-voltage electricity poles in the Dobrogea area where Rețele Electrice operates, also included in the Danube Free Sky project. This is yet another action demonstrating the strong partnership with ARBDD.

Roller bird. Photo by Doru Panaitescu

In Europe, the roller bird is more likely to be found in the Mediterranean area or in north-eastern countries such as Latvia, while in Romania it can only be found around the Danube, in Muntenia, southern Moldavia and the Western Plain. In recent years, not only in Romania, the species has been in decline, which is why a number of European projects aim to conserve it by protecting its habitats. Even so, up to 6.500 pairs nest in our country.

The use of pesticides in agriculture, which affects its food, and the felling of trees in which it roosts are endangering the living conditions of this bird, whose crimson and blue plumage catches the eye of anyone who happens to see it on its nature walks. We are working closely with specialists from the National Research and Development Institute “Danube Delta” to find the best solutions to support biodiversity in the river area.

Also for the protection of the Danube, together with the Milvus Group Association, has carried out a project through which about 800 medium voltage poles in Timiș and Arad counties have been equipped with specific electro-insulating sheaths. It is another project of this kind in the west of the country.

The dalmatian pelican

The dalmatian pelican (Latin: pelecanus crispus), found in Romania in the Danube Delta or nearby (e.g. in the Lake Tașaul area), is another protected bird whose safety is of concern to us, which is why, together with the Romanian Ornithological Society, we installed 100 anti-collision warning devices on approximately 1.5 kilometers of medium voltage power line.

This is part of the “Conservation of the Dalmatian Pelican along the Black-Sea Mediterranean Flyway” project, part of the European Life programme.

Dalmatian pelican. Photo by Sebastian Bugariu (SOR)

Like other winged, the species nests in Romania from spring to autumn, but in much smaller numbers, numbering just over 300 pairs. Some of them stay in the cold season, but most migrate to warmer climates in Greece or Turkey. In addition to other common hazards such as surface water pollution, collisions with power lines pose a real threat to the lives of these large, grey-white birds. With the new warning devices to be installed in areas of Tulcea and Iezer-Călărași, we are stepping up conservation measures and eliminating the risk of accidents that threaten these birds with an annual survival rate of only 80% for adults and less than 60% for birds under two years old.

The saker falcon

For the saker falcon, we have so far installed 34 artificial metal nests, provided by the Milvus Group Association, on high-voltage poles in the Banat region. In one of these nests, in 2015, for the first time in Romania, we installed a video camera with live transmission, with the participation of the Wild Watch Association, so the activity inside the nest was monitored and today there are a series of images that help us to know the species better. The system is a complex one, powered by photovoltaic panels and equipped with antennas that transmit remotely, and over the years it has garnered countless views online.

Saker falcon. Photo by Emil Todorov (SOR)

Interest is high, both from the specialists involved and from the public, also because the saker falcon is the rarest of the falcons present in our country, where we find an extremely small number of specimens, as in our Bulgarian neighbors, in both countries being on the list of critically endangered species; in fact, it is also found as a threatened species on the red list of IUCN (The International Union for Conservation of Nature). The last half-century has not been kind to this large, aggressive, and fast-moving bird, which seems to have contributed to the increased conservation risks. Today, constant measures are needed to ensure its survival. A careful involvement can be found in the EU’s Life program, which finances the “Life for Falcons” project, aimed at ensuring the recovery of the Danube falcon population, an endangered species in Bulgaria and southern Romania, a project in which SOR also participates, with the support of Rețele Electrice România.

The red-footed falcon

Among the legally protected birds found in Romania is the evening red-footed falcon, a small, bluish-grey raptor that nests mainly in the lowlands of Dobrogea, Muntenia, and the Western Plain from spring to autumn. It is a unique species of falcon, occupying the nests of other birds such as crows. Although the population trend is considered stable, the species is listed as ‘near threatened’. However, between 1.000 and 1.500 pairs are found annually in Romania. A program to conserve birds in Hungary and western Romania has been carried out through a Life project with the participation of the local environmental NGO Milvus Group, a constant partner of Rețele Electrice in Banat for the protection of birds in this area.

Red-footed falcon. Photo by Doru Panaitescu

Moreover, in the actions carried out in this regard, we are constantly collaborating with ornithological experts – checks are made to determine which are the most dangerous power lines for birds, as well as technical checks of incidents on the lines, maps are drawn up, disconnections or other incidents related to the presence of birds are monitored and everything is prioritized for the best efficiency. At Rețele Electrice, we believe in a sustainable future for all of us and we have made nature conservation a major goal in the communities where we work.