– It simply gets grilled and dies instantly. Nature manager Bjarne Oddane in the consulting company Ecofact has no doubts about what is the biggest threat to the endangered hub bridge: Old power lines with poles that look like a T. Nature manager Bjarne Oddane in Ecofact. Photo: Ole Andreas Bø / news Hubroen uses these posts as lookout points when he hunts prey. The problem arises when the hub bridge with a wing span of around 180 centimeters is to land or take off from the cross beam on top of the post. The distance between the top insulators that attach the cables is so short that the hub bridge touches two of the insulators at the same time. Then a short circuit occurs, and the hub bridge is grilled entirely. – We do not know exactly how many hubros are killed by the old power lines, but perhaps as many as 20-30 per cent. This makes a big dent in the stock, says Oddane. Many hubbros in Rogaland In Norway there are between 400 and 600 hubbro pairs. Rogaland has the densest population in the country. The latest calculation shows that there are up to 150 pairs here. In Rogaland, Høg-Jæren is known as hubroland. But a new survey in Stavanger gave a surprising answer. Throughout the country there are miles of this type of old power lines, which are the biggest threat to hubro. Photo: Gunnar Morsund / news – The results of the survey on Rennesøy and Finnøy show that we have many more hubbro than we thought. One of the densest populations in the country, says nature manager Vegard Ankarstrand in Stavanger municipality: It is estimated that there are up to ten pairs of hubrobs in Stavanger. After the nature manager became aware of the dense population, it was decided that action should be taken. Nature manager Vegard Ankarstrand in Stavanger municipality. Photo: Gunnar Morsund / news – Now we have good information about which grebes have nesting sites. We have applied for money to carry out a survey of the most exposed sections in order to secure poles that could pose a danger, says Ankarstrand. Want to secure power poles In Stavanger, it was documented in 2021 that two hub bridges were killed by an old power line. In the past, several birds have also been found dead. Stavanger municipality wants a collaboration with the network company Lnett in Sør-Rogaland. Securing the old power poles can be done by protecting the top insulators. Another measure is to mount seat posts on the sides of the top beam, so that the hub bridge does not land between the power lines. Perches on the side of the top beam are one of the safety measures to prevent hubbro landing between the power lines and risking being killed by a short circuit when the wings touch two lines at the same time. Photo: Jan Ove Gjershaug/The national hubror project – We are aware of the problem. That is why we are focusing on this going forward with new projects, says environmental adviser Eva Marie Østerhus in Lnett. Lnett is now looking at a stretch of around 80 kilometers with old power lines. The network company has not yet been able to calculate how much it will cost to secure the power poles. Environmental advisor Eva Marie Østerhus in Lnett. Photo: Gunnar Morsund / news – We want to get started as quickly as possible. Both for our own part, and not least for the hub bridge, says Østerhus. Thousands of dangerous poles Some time ago, Ecofact made a calculation of how many pairs of T-poles there are in Norway. Securing everyone will be a very big job. – We concluded that there were around 380,000 poles with 22 kV lines in Norway. At some point they will get old and gradually be replaced with safer posts that are not such a big trap for the hub bridge. But it can take 40–60 years, concludes nature manager Bjarne Oddane in Ecofact.
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Hubro is grilled by old T-shaped power poles – news Rogaland – Local news, TV and radio
