As she informed Energytogether with its subsidiaries for 30 years cooperates with naturalists to protect the white stork, as well as its habitats. Apart from installation of platforms on power poles for these protected birdsenergy specialists also help ornithologists in ringing action. This year, the company's employees support the event organized by naturalists 8. International White Stork Census, which takes place once every 10 years. The aim of this year's census is, among others: creating a database of stork nestswhich will be available via the Internet and which will also be available to Energa Operator's technical services.
Energa emphasized that it will start working on behalf of storks when… the birds stay on their wintering grounds in Africa – then power engineers assemble and renovate platforms for sockets located on power poles. “It is on these platforms that storks expand their breeding grounds – elevated above the power line, which protects them from contact with energized infrastructure elements,” the company noted. Every year there are several hundred new or renovated structures.
Together 13.5 thousand have already been installed. platforms for stork nests. Most platforms, almost 6,000, are located in the Olsztyn branch of the subsidiary, Energa Operator.
Anna Gawrońska, coordinator of the environmental protection section of Energa Operator, explained that formerThe platform's walls are mounted on power poles on which the birds built their nests in previous years. “Energy specialists do not assemble structures in places designated by them, but act in accordance with the +guidelines+ of future tenants, because there is little chance that the stork would accept the place assigned to it in advance,” added Gawrońska, quoted in the Energa information.
The Orlen Group company pointed out that the installation and renovation of platforms for storks are activities aimed not only at their protection, but also also protecting power lines against contact with the material used by birds to build nests – there are situations in which it causes short circuits and, consequently, interruptions in the supply of electricity.
Energa Operator employees are also involved in stork ringing campaigns. In December 2023, Mr19 employees who volunteered to participate in the ringing program were trained. The training was conducted by employees of the Bird Ringing Center and representatives of the Małopolska Ornithological Society.
“Recently, as part of cooperation with the Małopolska Ornithological Society, several thousand storks have been ringed,” the company said. She reminded that wedding rings allow, among others: to track bird migration routes and verification of the threats to which they are exposed. “All this allows us to plan actions to help better protect the species,” the information emphasized.
The Orlen Group company also reminded that naturalists and energy experts have been encouraging people to participate in the protection of storks for years, e.g. collecting strings, because birds find them in fields where they were left after agricultural work, and then use them to strengthen and expand their nests. Such a building material, as emphasized in the information, is especially dangerous for chicks because it poses a risk of entanglement, injury and even death.
Energa also announced that to the following address: bociany@energa-operator.pl you can report stork nests on power poleswhich are not yet equipped with a platformas well as any problems related to the existing ones, e.g. the need to replace them or “lighten” the socket.
Author: Michał Budkiewicz
