Whooper swans are winter visitors to the UK arriving in late autumn from Siberia and Iceland and leaving in the spring. They arrive in there thousands with large numbers of them heading to the fenlands of cambridgeshire where they spend their days feeding in arable fields in large groups, eating crops like leftover potatoes and grain, before heading to roost on open water as it begins to get dark.

Many of the fields that the swans spend time feeding in have power cables running along pylons nearby. These can be a real hazard for large flying birds like swans who often struggle to see the power lines and due to their size are unable to make quick movements in flight to avoid collisions. After several reports from concerned locals of collisions, UK Power Networks has put together a dedicated team to help stop the problem.

Using a long specially insulated rod, small spinning fluorescent discs are hung from the live cables, which carry 11,000-volts. These fluorescent discs are known as diverters and help birds avoid the cables resulting in fewer collisions as well as fewer power outages.

So far, UK Power Networks have put up a total of 4,360 diverters on 22km of live overhead lines, with the majority of those being across Cambridgeshire.

Heather Patrick, UK Power Networks environment advisor said: “Diverters benefit many birds including our resident mute swans and the smaller migratory swans which fly thousands of miles every year between the UK and their breeding grounds.”

“Swans and geese are not very agile flyers and being able to spot the diverters from a distance helps them to navigate more safely.”

The specialist team are currently working at Welney nature reserve and recently finished a job erecting 960 diverters along the overhead wires in Great Fen near Peterborough.

Steve a member of the team said: “We are passionate about saving wildlife and we really enjoy being outside doing our work.”

The Wildlife Trusts BCN is proud to have UK Power Networks as a corporate investor, leading the way in responsible business practices. Sustainability is a key focus for the company, who are working towards a Green Action Plan to help reduce carbon emissions. We would also like to congratulate them on recently becoming the first network operator in the country to have its carbon reduction plan and targets endorsed by the Science-Based Target Initiative, The Carbon Trust Standard.