Cape Town - Of all the endangered birds in the country, it is South Africa’s national one – the blue crane – that persistently flies into power lines electrocuting itself.
The Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) has been using bird flappers – “bird flight diverters” – on power lines for some time.
“The flapper is about the size of a teacup and has moving components,” EWT’s Wildlife and Energy programme manager Constant Hoogstad explained.
“It hangs from the line so the bird can see it.”
However, a new nocturnal device currently being tested is causing some excitement. It will be used in areas where cranes roost at night and fly in the dark.
The device has a flashing LED light and is charged with a solar panel.
Hoogstad said the flappers were used to prevent all birds flying into power lines.
“But we have a register and our records show that of all the endangered and vulnerable birds that fly into power lines, the Blue Crane does it the most.”
About half of the estimated 25 000 blue cranes in South Africa are found in the Western Cape and every year 10 percent of them are electrocuted on power lines.
It is one of the reasons why a local dairy has teamed up with the EWT to do a bit of crane spotting.
The idea is for people to record where and when they see blue cranes and post pictures and GPS co-ordinates to the Fair Cape Dairies Facebook page, which is https://www.facebook.com/faircape
Hoogstad said it helps when landowners get involved.
“It’s important where the birds are seen so we know where to put the markers.”
Louis Loubser, marketing director of Fair Cape Dairies, said seeing blue cranes on their farm was a joy and they wanted to help conserve them.
And winter is when the blue cranes are most likely to be seen in flocks.
The birds are also threatened by habitat loss and poisoning.
In one of the worst cases, a farmer in the Richmond district in the Northern Cape was alleged to have poisoned between 200 and 1 000 blue cranes over a three-year period. The carcasses were found earlier this year and environmentalists have called for a stiff penalty.
Cape Argus