Kitchen Garden Forum

This morning I found a dead jackdaw at the foot of the terminal pole of the overground 11kV power line which goes underground at the edge of our field. The bird was unmarked and very recently dead. This is the fourth time this has happened this year, only the first one I found looking a bit the worse for wear. It has never happened before this year, though we always have a lot of jackdaws around.

Any suggestions, explanations?

I'm no electrician but I wonder if there's any way that there's a shortage somewhere which killed it with an electric shock. It does seem strange that this has happened four times in exactly the same place. Once would have thought that if the location had been a favourite roosting place and it had been attacked by prey, there would have been some signs of damage showing. Could it possibly have been flying nearby in the twilight, not have seen the wire and garrotted itself?

Thanks for that Primrose. I was wondering if I would get a reply. I had been through the possibilities you mention, but all but the first dead jackdaw were in perfect condition (except they were dead). The last one which led to my posting was still warm and had presumably not flown into the pole/wires in the dark and had certainly not been felled by a bird of prey.

The mystery remains

Dear Alan, another thought, has anyone got a new airgun in your area!

oldherbaceous wrote:Dear Alan, another thought, has anyone got a new airgun in your area!

NO

Nor have the birds committed suicide because they can't speak Welsh

We're often reading about the dangers to human living close to High Voltage electricity power lines - i.e. a higher incidence of cancer or brain tumours, etc. As far as I'm aware, nothing to this effect has been proved scientifically but I can't help feeling that despite the lack of concrete evidence, there might be some truth in it.
If that were the case, it could surely be possible that a much smaller creater than a human being could also be vulnerable to the same effects, and if a bird had developed cancer or even a brain tumour there might be very little outside evidence. It might be interesting to have an expert open it up to have a look but I can't imagine that being easily possible. I wonder if you reported it to the RSPB whether they would have any interesting comments to make.

Hi Primrose,
Whereas anything is possible if the power cables were actually having such a drastic effect on the Crow population there would be very few left. I say this because here they are always roosting on the power cables and a Jackdaw had a nest on the top of the box that houses the transformer for my property this year. They raised four lovely youngsters.
JB.

...and now the mystery returns!

Two more dead jackdaws in the same place in the past week. No sign of injury at all - both just lying on their backs, wings neatly folded.

Presumably if the birds had tumours death would occur elsewhere wouldn't it.

Maybe the RSPB would investigate it.

Llyn Peninsular-'Bermuda Triangle'for Jackdaws

A dead magpie today!

I'm trying to get through to RSPB, but without success

Have you tried the electricity company to see if they are aware of a problem with the power lines?

I asked a vet friend and she could only think of a viral problem but that wouldn't explain them dying in the same spot!

It does sound like electocution!

Is that something to do with a hanged parliament?

..but that would be Rooks wouldn't it.

glallotments wrote:Have you tried the electricity company to see if they are aware of a problem with the power lines?

I don't imagine there could be a "fault" as this is the power line which supplies the whole village.

I would have imagined that 11,000 volts through a bird might lead to slight frazzling