Bird Diverters
Flying high across the North Dakota plains, a whooping crane’s eyes may not be able to make out the power lines in its path until it’s too late. When Minnesota Power built the Bison I wind farm within the crane’s migratory flyway in south-central North Dakota, it installed about 15,000 bird diverters on 44 miles of new and existing power lines. Bird diverters are foot-long, plastic corkscrews; attaching them to power lines makes the lines easier to see and helps the big birds avoid a collision and continue on their way. Research has shown that installing flight diverters can reduce the chance of cranes and other birds striking power lines by anywhere from 50 percent to 80 percent.
