A Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle perched on the crossarm of a power line pole
Power lines · Argentina

Every poorly designed pole is a trap

For ten years we have surveyed power lines pole by pole to record the birds of prey killed by electrocution and show where and how to prevent it.

Birds of prey use poles as perches

In open country, the pole is the highest point in the landscape. Birds of prey use it to spot prey, rest and sometimes build their nest.

On a well-designed pole this has no consequences. On a poorly designed one, a large bird that spreads its wings can touch two conductors at once, or a conductor and a grounded part, and close the circuit.

The shock is almost always fatal. It mostly affects the species with the largest wingspans, which are also the most threatened.

José Hernán Sarasola and Paula Orozco Valor with the dead birds collected under a power line
Birds collected under a single power line. Each one died when it landed · M. Flores

The burn confirms the cause

A bird found dead at the foot of a pole may have died for many reasons. Burn marks on the feet or feathers are what allow us to record it as electrocution.

A dead owl at the top of a pole with an occupied nest further down
A dead Barn Owl at the top and an occupied nest below, on the same pole.
A bird's foot with a burn from the electric shock
The burn on the bird's foot.
1,379poles surveyed
473poles on provincial route 20
906poles on provincial route 15
10years of continuous records

We walk the power lines, pole by pole

At each pole we record bird remains, the type of structure and evidence of electrocution. With these data we identify which designs are dangerous and on which stretches the deaths are concentrated.

In 2026 we published a large-scale assessment of raptor electrocution across the country.

When power lines kill · CECARA
A dead juvenile Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle on the crossarm of a power line pole, seen from above
Juvenile Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle electrocuted on the crossarm of a pole · M. Flores

There is a solution

There are proven, low-cost solutions: insulating the conductors near the pole and changing the layout of the crossarms, so that a large bird cannot touch two energised parts when it spreads its wings.

Most cost less than repairing the line after a fault. The electrocution of a large bird causes power cuts and, in rural areas, also fires.

A modified power line stops killing birds the next day. It is one of the few threats to biodiversity that a technical decision can solve.

Publications

What we have published on this topic

See all publications
Citizen science

If you find a dead bird under a power line, let us know

Reporting with SilentSong takes two minutes on your phone and works without signal. Each record helps us locate the poles that need fixing.

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