15 January 2011

Power poles and birds getting electrocuted

| Lin
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I live in Watson and I noticed that in the little park adjacent to my street, we have an unusual number of birds getting electrocuted at one particular power pole. Mostly cockatoos, though this week there was a magpie dead next to the pole too. Last year we had 3 cockatoos fried in one week.

So I called the ActewAGL’s fault reporting line and was told that they could do nothing about this sort of issue.

Now I’m pretty sure that there would be a solution to prevent this, like isolating the wires close to the pole. I realise that this could not be done for every single power pole in Canberra, but it is clear that this pole poses more of a threat to birds than others. So I’m quite peeved that they don’t seem to care. Maybe next time I’ll let my sensitive animal-loving 6yo call them to ask why they won’t help.

Lin

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Frustrated said :

So why post a reply then?

Do you live under a bridge!

Because I can and you should know that tree do not grow under bridges.

olfella said :

As long as it stops the cockys coming and wreaking havoc in my trees. I wouldn’t mind betting it was the cocky creating this problem in the first place by chewing the insulation away. Sorry, but no sympathy for the destructive buggers here.

So why post a reply then?

Do you live under a bridge!

A very patient ActewAGL guy is meeting me on site with a ‘pole inspection team’ this week! I am very happy with that outcome. And if they say there’s nothing to be done, I’ll accept it.

I first had to clear up the confusion about mixing up the words ‘insulate’ and ‘isolate’ in my orignial email – it’s a Dutch language thing. But I managed to convince them that I was not asking for power to the whole suburb to be interrupted indefinitely!

niftydog said :

olfella said :

I wouldn’t mind betting it was the cocky creating this problem in the first place by chewing the insulation away.

Power lines are uninsulated – only in cases where they likely to come in contact with a person or machinery are they retroactively insulated with ugly black and yellow covers.

Not if the pole had a (insulated) line coming off it. Cocky sits on the uninsulated line you refer to and starts chewing away on the insulation from the other phase and all of sudden it has 400v to contend with.

Lin said :

trevar said :

And are they all dropping from the same spot? Maybe ACTEW would respond better if you had some more information implicating their infrastructure.

So far the dead birds have all been lying pretty much in the exact same spot. Yesterday’s cockatoo apparently had its beak and one leg blown off – so the neighbour whose kids held a wake for it told me. I sent ActewAGL an email so I’ll see if they ask me for more info. If not, I might do some research and write to the paper. And to WIN TV if I really must.

Birds blowing up? Sounds like you should get a video camera and record it. That sh#t would go viral on youtube

Odd. There must be something odd about that pole, or something attracting them to it.

olfella said :

I wouldn’t mind betting it was the cocky creating this problem in the first place by chewing the insulation away.

Power lines are uninsulated – only in cases where they likely to come in contact with a person or machinery are they retroactively insulated with ugly black and yellow covers.

Lin said :

Rawhide Kid Part3 said :

How about underground?

Oh wouldn’t that be nice!

Underground solar power – even better.

Rawhide Kid Part3 said :

How about underground?

Oh wouldn’t that be nice!

Rawhide Kid Part311:33 pm 16 Jan 11

gospeedygo said :

Morgan said :

If more people had solar power, this would be so much better, then we wouldnt need power lines,

Would you care to research your claims?

How about underground?

olfella said :

I agree trevar. You would think they could drop some of the useless courses they currently run, like chewing branches into mulch and wrecking window sills and replace that with the principles of electrics and just how important insulation is.

The Cockys should be proactive enough to get their WSR to PIN the pole!

Lin – why don’t you take some photos of the pole, and its many victims next time you get the opportunity, and put them up here – might just be the little bit of publicity that ACTEWAGL need to motivate them. Perhaps some of that wire stuff they put on shop fronts / hoardings etc to deter pigeons would do the job…

Cocky s love to chew the plastic insulation off cables. You could start a bird cemetery under the pole. Little crosses, feathers and flowers. Tributes to ActewAGL.

trevar said :

And are they all dropping from the same spot? Maybe ACTEW would respond better if you had some more information implicating their infrastructure.

So far the dead birds have all been lying pretty much in the exact same spot. Yesterday’s cockatoo apparently had its beak and one leg blown off – so the neighbour whose kids held a wake for it told me. I sent ActewAGL an email so I’ll see if they ask me for more info. If not, I might do some research and write to the paper. And to WIN TV if I really must.

trevar said :

olfella said :

Sorry, but no sympathy for the destructive buggers here.

Yeah, surely they teach urban safety at cocky school! I can’t believe how many cockatoos there are who just don’t understand how electricity works!

I agree trevar. You would think they could drop some of the useless courses they currently run, like chewing branches into mulch and wrecking window sills and replace that with the principles of electrics and just how important insulation is.

If you want to see ACTEW respond, just ring up WIN TV News and watch what happens.

far_northact9:04 am 16 Jan 11

The cocky’s – no one will care about. But arent those horrible magpies a protected species? Surely someone will care if the magpies are getting killed?

(personally I wish all magpies and other swooping birds would die, just the sounds of bird wings flying near me make me duck and squeal like a child).

olfella said :

Sorry, but no sympathy for the destructive buggers here.

Yeah, surely they teach urban safety at cocky school! I can’t believe how many cockatoos there are who just don’t understand how electricity works!

Lin, it is certainly unusual. Is there something near this pole that is attracting them? And are they all dropping from the same spot? Maybe ACTEW would respond better if you had some more information implicating their infrastructure.

Morgan said :

If more people had solar power, this would be so much better, then we wouldnt need power lines,

Would you care to research your claims?

If more people had solar power, this would be so much better, then we wouldnt need power lines,

*insulating, not isolating. It’s my NESB…

I’m happy to share my trees with the cockies. And think more of an effort should be make to make street furniture cocky-proof. The lights on ANZAC parade were designed with cockies in mind. Ok, they cost a fortune, but at least they won’t easily fall apart now.

As long as it stops the cockys coming and wreaking havoc in my trees. I wouldn’t mind betting it was the cocky creating this problem in the first place by chewing the insulation away. Sorry, but no sympathy for the destructive buggers here.

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