Bird conservation on electric-power lines in Hungary: Nest boxes for saker falcon and avian protection against electrocutions. Projects' report

Bird conservation on electricity transmission lines has a 40-year history in Hungary. It started with the saker conservation program. The initial small-scale activities were considerably enlarged through the LIFE projects. In the first project, 301 nest boxes for sakers of a new type made of aluminium were installed on pylons of high-voltage transmission lines. In 201 3 nearly 70% of saker pairs nested in these new boxes. An estimated 1 00 000 different birds used to be killed annually on the transmission line pylons in Hungary. During the two LIFE projects about 1 4 300 pylons were made bird-safe using improved technology and materials. Nearly 800 new bird-safe crossarms of pylons are being installed in the second project, which is expected to completely eradicate the danger