Drivers of Electric Pylon Used as Nesting Sites by Birds in Baicheng City, China
Drivers of Electric Pylon Used as Nesting Sites by Birds in Baicheng City, China
Zheng Han1, Junbo Liu2, Jingyao Luan2, Changlong Gao2, Yufeng Tai2, He Liu2, Saipeng Zhang2, Guanqiang Zhai2, Xi Yang1,3, Haitao Wang1,4*
ABSTRACT
Overhead power lines and associated infrastructure are expanding significantly worldwide. Though power lines are often considered to negatively affect bird populations due to electric collision and electrocution, pylons may serve as artificial perches, roosting sites, or nesting locations for various bird species. In this study, we first examined differences in surrounding habitat characteristics of occupied pylons among bird species in Baicheng City, northeastern China. Then we evaluated the relative importance of habitat variables on pylon selection by nesting birds. Among the 860 surveyed electric pylons in Baicheng, 56 nests of six bird species (Eurasian Magpie, Common Kestrel, Daurian Jackdaw, Amur Falcon, Little Owl, and Oriental White Stork) were detected. The percentage of pylons used as birds’ nesting supports is approximately 6.51%. Bird species that occupy pylons exhibited nonrandom nest-placement patterns, they tend to nest on pylons characterized by a greater amount of grassland, water, and cropland in the surroundings. In addition, no significant differences were observed in the habitat characteristics between species pairs. Random Forest model highlighted nest occurrence on pylons was strongly influenced by NDVI and other landscape features, such as water proportion and grassland proportion in the pylon surroundings, and the intermediate value of NDVI, edge density, and patch richness can contribute to a relatively low pylon use rate. Our results provide evidence to identify and predict high-risk regions where high-voltage pylons and power lines might be located. It also has conservation implications when building artificial nesting platforms on suitable pylons to create new habitats for target species.
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