Studies carried out in the UK into bird deaths have produced some very startling results. Millions of birds are known to die or get injured in collisions with obstacles such as pylons, overhead wires, tall buildings, fences or windows. An article in the BBC News quotes the British Trust for Ornithology as stating: "Up to 100 million UK birds are crashing into windows each year, with a third of them dying."

In a report for the National Wind Coordinating Committee UK, there is a useful section on "Avian Mortality due to Collisions with High Tension Lines", which contains facts such as:

"For some types of birds, power line collisions appear to be a significant source of mortality. Waterfowl band recovery data collected prior to 1967 indicated that power line strikes were responsible for 65 per cent of the collision fatalities involving 3,015 banded birds (Stout 1967). Of 75 trumpeter swan deaths recorded from 1958 to 1973, 19 per cent of the fatalities were due to power line collisions (Weaver and St Ores 1974). During a two-year study of mute swans in Rhode Island, Willey (1968) found that 26.7 per cent of adult fatalities were due to collisions, mostly with power lines."

"In the Netherlands, where approximately 2,875 miles (4,600 km) of high-tension lines are present, Koops (1987) estimated that 750,000 to one million birds are killed annually by collisions."

Another UK report - Protecting Birds from Power lines - quotes:

"In important areas of bird migration considerable losses occur. Birds migrating at night and birds flying regularly between feeding areas and resting areas are particularly at risk, when power lines cut across their migration corridors or their staging/wintering areas. At such locations, bird losses can exceed 500 casualties per kilometre of power line. Especially long-distance migratory birds have to cross a large number of power lines during their autumn and spring migrations - at considerable risk."

All this data point to power lines and windows as being a very probable cause for many bird deaths and injuries. In Malta, we have yet to see any such bird collisions being reported. Strangely, it is infallibly "lead-riddled and bloodied" birds that make the headlines and, consequently, hunters get the blame.

It would be worth listening to what the veterinary surgeons that inspect birds recovered by BirdLife Malta and the police have to say. Have they never examined birds with injuries unconnected with shooting?

If so, they should make it public since, so far, apart from bird deaths allegedly due to hunters, we have never heard of any. Could it be that our power lines are different or that our obstacles are bird friendly?