Deterring hooded crows from re‐nesting on power poles
Abstract Hooded crows (Corvus cornix) nest on power poles throughout the north of Scotland, and the interruptions to electricity supply caused by the nests cost the electricity provider in excess of (UK) £250,000 annually. In the Orkney Isles, where pole nesting is relatively common, most nests are...
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Wiley
2012-12-01
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| Series: | Wildlife Society Bulletin |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/wsb.211 |
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| author | Guillam E. McIvor Candy Rowe Susan D. Healy |
| author_facet | Guillam E. McIvor Candy Rowe Susan D. Healy |
| author_sort | Guillam E. McIvor |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Hooded crows (Corvus cornix) nest on power poles throughout the north of Scotland, and the interruptions to electricity supply caused by the nests cost the electricity provider in excess of (UK) £250,000 annually. In the Orkney Isles, where pole nesting is relatively common, most nests are actively removed before they can cause a fault. However, rebuilding often occurs. Although the electrical company routinely fits Firefly FF‐type diverters (P & R Tech Inc., Beaverton, OR, USA) after nest removals to deter the crows from rebuilding, there has been no field test of the effectiveness of the Fireflies as a deterrent. In our study, carried out in Orkney in the Spring/Summer of 2009 and 2010, Fireflies were fitted at half of the sites from which nests were removed and not fitted at the other half of the sites. We found that crows were equally likely to rebuild at sites fitted with Fireflies as they were to rebuild at sites without Fireflies. However, rebuilding was less likely to occur the later in the season that nests were removed, and nests in the middle phase of construction were the most likely to be rebuilt. Therefore, making an appropriate decision as to when to remove a crow nest seems to be a more effective method for deterring nest rebuilding than is the fitting of Firefly diverters. © 2012 The Wildlife Society. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e14360b9533d417fb0c0f12b1c079221 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2328-5540 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2012-12-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Wildlife Society Bulletin |
| spelling | doaj-art-e14360b9533d417fb0c0f12b1c0792212025-08-20T02:36:23ZengWileyWildlife Society Bulletin2328-55402012-12-0136472973410.1002/wsb.211Deterring hooded crows from re‐nesting on power polesGuillam E. McIvor0Candy Rowe1Susan D. Healy2School of Psychology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews KY16 9JP, UKCentre for Behaviour and Evolution, Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University, Henry Wellcome Building, Framlington Place, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4HH, UKSchools of Psychology and Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews KY16 9JP, UKAbstract Hooded crows (Corvus cornix) nest on power poles throughout the north of Scotland, and the interruptions to electricity supply caused by the nests cost the electricity provider in excess of (UK) £250,000 annually. In the Orkney Isles, where pole nesting is relatively common, most nests are actively removed before they can cause a fault. However, rebuilding often occurs. Although the electrical company routinely fits Firefly FF‐type diverters (P & R Tech Inc., Beaverton, OR, USA) after nest removals to deter the crows from rebuilding, there has been no field test of the effectiveness of the Fireflies as a deterrent. In our study, carried out in Orkney in the Spring/Summer of 2009 and 2010, Fireflies were fitted at half of the sites from which nests were removed and not fitted at the other half of the sites. We found that crows were equally likely to rebuild at sites fitted with Fireflies as they were to rebuild at sites without Fireflies. However, rebuilding was less likely to occur the later in the season that nests were removed, and nests in the middle phase of construction were the most likely to be rebuilt. Therefore, making an appropriate decision as to when to remove a crow nest seems to be a more effective method for deterring nest rebuilding than is the fitting of Firefly diverters. © 2012 The Wildlife Society.https://doi.org/10.1002/wsb.211Corvus cornixdeterrentselectricityFirefly diverterhooded crownesting |
| spellingShingle | Guillam E. McIvor Candy Rowe Susan D. Healy Deterring hooded crows from re‐nesting on power poles Wildlife Society Bulletin Corvus cornix deterrents electricity Firefly diverter hooded crow nesting |
| title | Deterring hooded crows from re‐nesting on power poles |
| title_full | Deterring hooded crows from re‐nesting on power poles |
| title_fullStr | Deterring hooded crows from re‐nesting on power poles |
| title_full_unstemmed | Deterring hooded crows from re‐nesting on power poles |
| title_short | Deterring hooded crows from re‐nesting on power poles |
| title_sort | deterring hooded crows from re nesting on power poles |
| topic | Corvus cornix deterrents electricity Firefly diverter hooded crow nesting |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/wsb.211 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT guillamemcivor deterringhoodedcrowsfromrenestingonpowerpoles AT candyrowe deterringhoodedcrowsfromrenestingonpowerpoles AT susandhealy deterringhoodedcrowsfromrenestingonpowerpoles |