Action

Action Synopsis: Bird Conservation About Actions

Bury or isolate power lines to reduce incidental bird mortality

How is the evidence assessed?
  • Effectiveness
    60%
  • Certainty
    45%
  • Harms
    0%

Study locations

Key messages

A single before-and-after trial in Spain showed a dramatic increase in the survival of juvenile Spanish imperial eagles Aquila adalberti following the burial or isolation of power lines.

 

About key messages

Key messages provide a descriptive index to studies we have found that test this intervention.

Studies are not directly comparable or of equal value. When making decisions based on this evidence, you should consider factors such as study size, study design, reported metrics and relevance of the study to your situation, rather than simply counting the number of studies that support a particular interpretation.

Supporting evidence from individual studies

  1. A before-and-after trial in the wetlands of the Doñana National Park (Ferrer & Hiraldo 1991), Andalusia, Spain, found that six-month survival for radio-marked juvenile Spanish imperial eagles  Aquila adalberti increased from 18% of 17 individuals in 1986-7 to 80% of 15 in 1988-9 following the isolation or burial of previously identified dangerous power lines. This study discusses other eagle management techniques, described in ‘Add perches to electricity pylons to reduce electrocution’, ‘Use signs and access restrictions to reduce disturbance at nest sites’, ‘Foster eggs or chicks with wild conspecifics’ and ‘Remove/treat endoparasites’.

    Study and other actions tested
Please cite as:

Williams, D.R., Child, M.F., Dicks, L.V., Ockendon, N., Pople, R.G., Showler, D.A., Walsh, J.C., zu Ermgassen, E.K.H.J. & Sutherland, W.J. (2020) Bird Conservation. Pages 137-281 in: W.J. Sutherland, L.V. Dicks, S.O. Petrovan & R.K. Smith (eds) What Works in Conservation 2020. Open Book Publishers, Cambridge, UK.

 

Where has this evidence come from?

List of journals searched by synopsis

All the journals searched for all synopses

Bird Conservation

This Action forms part of the Action Synopsis:

Bird Conservation
What Works 2021 cover

What Works in Conservation

What Works in Conservation provides expert assessments of the effectiveness of actions, based on summarised evidence, in synopses. Subjects covered so far include amphibians, birds, mammals, forests, peatland and control of freshwater invasive species. More are in progress.

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