Some good news on the heron front: Back on July 17, 2014, I drove up to Craig State Fish Hatchery in Centerton for shorebird migration. Right before the hatchery, the road passes under a transmission line owned by AEP Southwest Electric Power Company. Big falcons perch on the 150-foot tall poles at times. This fall a flock of Purple Martins perched on the wires. Unfortunately, I saw the dead form of a Great Blue Heron on the otherwise largely invisible top wire. I assume this novice Great Blue tried to fly above the obvious 3 wires and never saw the killer. Subsequently, I saw another flying heron that just barely dodged this wire. There is an inescapable moral dimension to such a bold creature caught helplessly in the nameless jaws of modernity. I called SWEPCO and was hooked up with Dr David B. Hall of AEP’s Air & Water Quality Services. Dr Hall immediately understood the situation and knew the line needed to be marked. He is a long time friend of Terry Stanfill, retired chemist with SWEPCO and manager of Eagle Watch Nature Trail at Gentry. Things fell in place quickly. Yesterday I heard from Peter Main head of corporate communications for AEP SWEPCO. “Two AEP Transmission crews installed bird diverters on the portion of SWEPCO’s 161-kV transmission line just south of the Centerton fish hatchery. The diverters were installed on the top wire, called the static wire, which does not carry electricity. The yellow diverters increase the visibility of the static wire, which is smaller in diameter than the three conductor wires below that carry electricity.” The crews were up there in the sky, in their buckets, where herons fly. Bless their hearts. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Herons included.
Posted on: Wed, 10 Sep 2014 12:11:36 +0000