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{{#Wiki_filter:XcelEnergy-PRAIRIE ISLAND NUCLEAR GENERATING PLANT LICENSE RENEWAL ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Documents Requested During NRC Environmental Review Terrestrial Ecology Binder I of I Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant NRC Document Request List S Item Number. Document Bree Balsam 29 Floodplain map (NRG)30 NWI Wetland map (NRG)31 ER, Chapter 3 Ref: Goddard, 1977 32 ER, Chapter 3 Ref: Goddard, 1978 33 ER, Chapter 3 Ref: Goddard 1979 37 ER, Chapter 3 Ref: NSPCM & FWS, 2002 Page 1 of 1 Rev. 9/8/08 r- -Site Boundary 100 Year Floodplain One Mile Buffer 500 Year Floodplain 0 1,000 2,000 Feet Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant Flood Plain Map I MACIients\M-aMMC\Prairie Island\ ArcGIS\2008\08\
{{#Wiki_filter:XcelEnergy-PRAIRIE ISLAND NUCLEAR GENERATING PLANT LICENSE RENEWAL ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Documents Requested During NRC Environmental Review Terrestrial Ecology Binder I of I
MMC R NWI.mxd 1:32.0001 DATE: 08/13/08 1 REVISED: 08/13/08 I DRAWN BY: MLTeichert N rJ Site Boundary NWI Wetland WOne Mile Buffer 0 1,000 2,000 Feet Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant NWI Wetland Map 0 M:\Clients\M-O\MMC\Prairie Island\ ArcGIS\2008\08\_MMCPtNWI.mxd 1:32,0001 DATE: 08/13/08 I REVISED: 08/13/08 I DRAWN BY: MLTeichert PRAIRIE ISLAND NUCLEAR GENERATING PLANT ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING PROGRAM 1976 ANNUAL REPORT ECOLOGICAL STUDIES U1 r1-I-SPECIAL STUDIES NUMBER AND COMPOSITION OF BIRDS KILLED BY STRIKING TRANSMISSION LINES FROM THE PRAIRIE ISLAND NUCLEAR GENERATING PLANT i (2.7.5.1)Prepared for Nqrthern States Power Company Minneapolis, Minnesota by Stephen V. Goddard Biology Department University of Wisconsin River Falls, Wisconsin 2.7.5.1-1 2.7.5.1.1 introduction It is known that many birds are killed each year in the United States by striking transmission lines. The actual number of birds killed is unknown and, in fact, probably cannot be accu-rately determined.
 
In addition, there is the question of the orientation of transmission lines in relation to migration corridors relative to the magnitude of bird kills. A question also arises as to the importance of the time of the year in relation to the number of birds killed.With these questions in mind, a pilot project was initiated in 1974 as an adjunct of the terrestrial monitoring program at the Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant. Since this was a limited effort, it was not expected that any more than a rough estimate of the composition and number of birds killed by striking transmission lines would be obtained.The objectives of this study were to determine:
Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant NRC Document Request List S Item Number.                                     Document       .*
: 1. An estimate of the composition and magnitude of birds killed by striking transmission lines.2. An indication of bird mortality at different times of the year.3. Whether or not there was a relationship between bird mortality and the orientation of transmission lines.4. Whether there was any relationship between bird mortality and the habitat type traversed by transmission lines.2.7.5.1-3 2.7.5.1.2 Description of the Study Area The total distance walked beneath the lines was about 4.6 kilo-meters long and 80 meters wide. This would comprise an area covering 36.8 hectares (90.93 acres). The lines crossed a sand dredge spoil which has grown up in willow, cottonwood, and brome and quack grasses (Areas 1, 2, 11, and 12 on Figure 2.7.5.1-1).
Bree Balsam 29     Floodplain map (NRG) 30     NWI Wetland map (NRG) 31     ER, Chapter 3 Ref: Goddard, 1977 32     ER, Chapter 3 Ref: Goddard, 1978 33     ER, Chapter 3 Ref: Goddard 1979 37     ER, Chapter 3 Ref: NSPCM & FWS, 2002 Page 1 of 1 Rev. 9/8/08
The lines then crossed a recently abandoned field (Areas 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, and portions of 6 and 7), which is now beginning to show signs of developing into a more stable area. There is a considerable amount of open ground with predominant plants being hawk weed, panic grass, fall witch grass, and quack grass.The remaining portions of Areas 6 and 7 went through a young oak forest which contained a good growth of hazel brush as the understory.
 
Areas perpendicular to the migration corridor were Areas.2, 3, 10, 11, and to a lesser degree, 6 and 7.2.7.5.1.3 Method of Procedure The area under the lines was walked three times in each of the three years of the study. The walks were usually during the third week in April, fourth week in May (once the firstweek of June), and the second week in September, and were timed to coincide with what was believed to be peak bird migration.
r-       - Site Boundary                     100 Year Floodplain         Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant One Mile Buffer                   500 Year Floodplain                               Flood Plain Map                      I 0   1,000   2,000 Feet MACIients\M-aMMC\Prairie Island\ ArcGIS\2008\08\ MMC R NWI.mxd         1:32.0001 DATE: 08/13/08 1REVISED: 08/13/08 I DRAWN BY: MLTeichert
Eight observers were used on seven of the nine walks. Six and ten observers were each used once. The observers lined up perpendicular to the lines for one set of poles. The outside observers were just outside the outer lines. Once 2.7.5.1-4 this was accomplished, equal spacing was established between the observers.
 
The observers then walked slowly beneath the lines searching for dead birds. The group would then walk back the lines from the second set of poles (Figure 2.7.5.1-1).
N rJ         Site Boundary                       NWI Wetland                 Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant WOne Mile Buffer                                                                           NWI Wetland Map                            0 0    1,000   2,000 Feet M:\Clients\M-O\MMC\Prairie Island\ ArcGIS\2008\08\_MMCPtNWI.mxd           1:32,0001 DATE: 08/13/08 I REVISED: 08/13/08 I DRAWN BY: MLTeichert
Every dead b'rd found was recorded by species and area and then buried, except for a few of the most recent kills, which were sent to the University of Minnesota where they were examined to determine the cause of death.An Analysis of Variance (Steel and Torrie 1960) was used to determine if there was a significant difference between the number of birds found and the date or area searched.
 
In addition, the Newman-Keuls Analysis (Winer 1963) was used by Dr. Edward Mealy of the Mathematics Department of the Univer-sity of Wisconsin at River Falls, to determine whether there was a significant difference between the birds killed in the various areas and if so, which areas contained significantly greater numbers of dead birds.2.7.5.1.4 Results During the three years of the study, 286 dead birds representing 45 species and four unknown categories were found (Table 2.7.5.1-1). There were 96 individuals representing 34 species found in 1974, 105 individuals and 25 species in 1975, and 85 indi-viduals representing 19 species in 1976.Five species made up over 50 percent of the birds found (Table 2.7.5.1-1).
U1 r1-I-PRAIRIE ISLAND NUCLEAR GENERATING PLANT ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING PROGRAM 1976 ANNUAL REPORT ECOLOGICAL STUDIES SPECIAL STUDIES NUMBER AND COMPOSITION OF BIRDS KILLED i
These species were starlings (42), mourning 2.7.5.1-5 doves (37), red-winged blackbirds (27), common grackles (20), and brown-headed cowbirds (18).I The greatest number of dead birds were found in Areas 2 (69), 10 (45), 3 (43), and 11 (37), which were perpendicular to the migration corridor of the Mississippi River (Table 2.7.5.1-2).
BY STRIKING TRANSMISSION LINES FROM THE PRAIRIE ISLAND NUCLEAR GENERATING PLANT (2.7.5.1)
Area 4 ranked fifth with 28 dead birds. Many of these were found where the lines above the area cornered with those above Area 3.The Analysis of Variance indicated there was a -significant difference in the number of dead birds collected by areas be-tween poles and by date. The calculated F values were 6.85 (for areas and 3.57 for dates. The tabular F values were for areas: F = 2.45, and for dates: F(8 8 8 0 5) = 2.97.The Newman-Keuls Analysis of the data showed that a signifi-cantly greater number of dead birds were observed in Areas 2, 3, and 10 than were found in the other nine areas. When the data were pooled, the numbers were totaled for the two areas that were parallel to one another; e.g., (1, 12), (2, 11), (3, 10), (4, 9), (5, 8), and (6, 7). There was a signifi-cantly greater number of dead birds found in areas (2, 11)and (3, 10) in comparison with the other areas.r 2.7.5.1.5 Discussion and Conclusion The areas that had significantly higher bird kills were all perpendicular to the migration corridor along the Mississippi 2.7.5.1-6 River. The only other lines that were arranged more or less perpendicular to the migration corridor were those lines above Areas 6 and 7. The reason for the lower kill in those areas is unknown, but it may have been due to several factors. These areas were a different type of habitat; e.g., an oak forest with a dense understory.
Prepared for Nqrthern States Power Company Minneapolis, Minnesota by Stephen V. Goddard Biology Department University of Wisconsin River Falls, Wisconsin 2.7.5.1-1
This may have made locating dead birds much more difficult.
 
In addition, the trees may have resulted in many birds migrating higher .and passing over the wires or moving through the tree tops passing under the wires.Approximately the same number of dead birds were found under the lines, each year, even though the composition was not the same.Birds sent to the University of Minnesota for autopsies had broken necks and lacerations, which indicated they had struck hard objects (Dr. Duane Warner, personal communication).
2.7.5.1.1     introduction It is known that many birds are killed each year in the United States by striking transmission lines. The actual number of birds killed is unknown and,   in fact, probably cannot be accu-rately determined. In addition, there is the question of the orientation of transmission lines in relation to migration corridors relative to the magnitude of bird kills. A question also arises as to the importance of the time of the year in relation to the number of birds killed.
One of the factors believed to be important in affecting the number of birds found was the increased vegetative growth under the lines from year to year or from spring to fall. However, this may not be true, since the ground under 'the lines was burned in the spring of 1976 and a prolonged drought greatly reduced growth of vegetation.
With these questions in mind, a pilot project was initiated in 1974 as an adjunct of the terrestrial monitoring program at the Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant. Since this was a limited effort, it   was not expected that any more than a rough estimate of the composition and number of birds killed by striking transmission lines would be obtained.
Even so, a smaller number of birds were found on the June and September walks.NTot all the birds that hit wires were killed. In 1974, an immnature male wood duck was found that had a severe bruise and laceration just above the bill. There was also a minor laceration on the right wing. Another instance was a mourning 2.7.5.1-7 dove that was picked up unable to fly. It was kept three days, banded, and flew away when released.The wide variety of birds found under the transmission lines was certainly a minimum estimate of the numbers killed. Th-is was because of many factors. The fact that only one sample was conducted in April, May, and September made it unlikely that the sampling was conducted after a peak night migration.
The objectives of this study were to determine:
Sampling should be done more often, especially during the time of peak migration in order to obtain a better estimate of the kill. Another problem was that birds could strike the wires and flutter down outside of the search area. This problem was minimized by the open nature of the ground, which permitted observers to see several meters from their lines of walk.Another problem would be birds that were only crippled by the wires and moved out of the search area. The presence of a large number of neighborhood dogs and cats that could pick up*! dead and crippled birds and carry them out of the search areas* would also have contributed toward a lower estimate of the kill.Other studies have indicated that bird mortality occurs from striking transmission lines.% A North Dakota study (McKenna and Allard 1976), reported finding 244 dead birds representing 18 species on the 11 days sampled between May 31 and August 24.These birds were killed by striking transmission lines per-pendicular to the crossing between two lakes. The four species which made up about 80 percent of the total all tended to be low-flying species.2.7.5. L-8 A study prepared for the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (Arend 1970) in California seemed to contradict results found in the Prairie Island and North Dakota studies. Arend (1970)stated: "Electric power transmission lines mounted on steel towers cause very minor avian loss, and their adverse eco-logical impact on avian populations is negligible." The transmission lines he refers to are those that carry over 60 KV. His study had a major drawback in that much of the information was based on written inquiries from various indi-viduals and agencies and pertained to occasions where large numbers of birds were killed. The report did not deal with comprehensive studies, but instead was based more on casual observations.
: 1. An estimate of the composition and magnitude of birds killed by striking transmission lines.
In addition, many of these inquiries involved birds that normally are found in heavily vegetated areas, where even large numbers of dead or injured birds could go unnoticed.
: 2. An indication of bird mortality at different times of the year.
At Prairie Island, the similarity in the numbers found from year to year indicated that this technique is an adequate low-cost method to obtain an index of the numbers and com-position of the birds killed by striking transmission lines in an area. To obtain a better estimate of the number of birds killed, the number of walks should be increased.
: 3. Whether or not there was a relationship between bird mortality and the orientation of transmission lines.
In addition, the areas should be walked during the breeding season in an attempt to determine whether many nesting birds are killed or whether they avoid the lines. Preliminary observations seem to indicate that many local nesting birds are killed.2.7.5.1-9 It appears that the best way to reduce bird kills is to locate transmission lines parallel to bird migration corridors to as great a degree as possible, since locating them perpendicular to the line of migration results in many more birds being killed. Additional information supporting this contention is found in a study by Beer and Ogilvie (1972), who stated: "Wires are particularly lethal when they run across rivers and channels, or pass close to sites holding large concen-trations of birds." The impact of transmission lines perpen-dicular to a migration corridor is further evidenced by a statement from the Environmental Assessment for a Proposed Crossing of the Mississippi River by a 161 KV Transmission Line. The assessment stated: Leigh H. Fredrickson, Gaylord Memorial Laboratory, who is presently conducting a study involving the effects of power lines on avian movements, stated that power lines running across the Mississippi River at right angles to waterfowl flight paths, coupled with the timber-marsh funneling effect, would cause seiiouslosses.Other factors that should be considered in locating .trans-mission lines are local terrain features such as forested areas and bluffs, and the heights at which birds normally fly when passing over these areas. At Prairie Island it appears that birds strike the lines and are killed more often where vegetation below the lines is low than where it is high.Unfortunately, this is hard to document because of the scarcity of forest habitat in the study area.2.7.5.1-10 2.7.5.1.6 Literature Cited I J Anonymous.
: 4. Whether there was any relationship between bird mortality and the habitat type traversed by transmission lines.
1976. Proposed Genoa-Lansing 161 KV Transmission Line Crossing Through the Upper Mississippi River Wild-Life and Fish Refuge. Lansing District.
2.7.5.1-3
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Environmental Assessment.
 
Arend, Phillip H. 1970. The Ecological Impacts of Trans-mission Lines on the Wildlife of San Francisco Bay.Report prepared for Pacific Gas and Electric Company.Beer, J. V. and M. A. Ogilvie. 1972. In The Swans: Scott, P.. 1972: 129-130. Michael Joseph, LTD. London.McKenna, M. G. and G. E. Allard. 1976. Avian Mortality from Wire Collisions.
2.7.5.1.2     Description of the Study Area The total distance walked beneath the lines was about 4.6 kilo-meters long and 80 meters wide. This would comprise an area covering 36.8 hectares (90.93 acres). The lines crossed a sand dredge spoil which has grown up in willow, cottonwood,     and brome and quack grasses (Areas 1, 2,   11, and 12 on Figure 2.7.5.1-1).
North Dakota Outdoors.
The lines then crossed a recently abandoned field (Areas 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, and portions of 6 and 7), which is now beginning to show signs of developing into a more stable area.     There is a considerable amount of open ground with predominant plants being hawk weed, panic grass, fall witch grass, and quack grass.
39(5): 16-18.Steel, R. G. D. and James H. Torrie. 1960. Principles and Procedures of Statistics.
The remaining portions of Areas 6 and 7 went through a young oak forest which contained a good growth of hazel brush as the understory. Areas perpendicular to the migration corridor were Areas.2, 3, 10, 11, and to a lesser degree, 6 and 7.
McGraw-Hill Book Company.Winer, B. J.Design.1962. Statistical Principles in Experimental McGraw-Hill Book Company.2.7.5.1-i1 S a*$'(D to "'0 0 1 t,~(D i'(Di-W H a H CDH 0~0 OW -H (D ftj la9.CD Flow of River , 2 3 10 4 12 9_5 2=5 8 X = Towers 6 7 lion River Table 2.7.5.1-1.
2.7.5.1.3   Method of Procedure The area under the lines was walked three times in each of the three years of the study. The walks were usually during the third week in April, fourth week in May (once the firstweek of June),   and the second week in September,   and were timed to coincide with what was believed to be peak bird migration.
Surmmary of birds collected by species under the transmission lines from the Prairie Island Nuclear Gienerating Plant.'Number ".umber Species found Species found Starling 42 Yellow throat 2 Mourninig dove 37 Killdeer 2 Red-winged blackbird 27 xreat blue heron. 1 Conmon Grackle 20 House wren 1 Brown-headed cowbird 18 Hungarian partridge 1 Unknown unkno-rn 15 Swamp sparrow 1 Ring-necked pheasant 13 Chestnut-sided warbler 1 Sora rail 9 Tennessee warbler I American coot Field sparrow 1 Robin 8 Ruduy duck I Unknown sparrow 8 Green heron 1 Western meadowlark 7 Northern oriole l Wood duck 6 Ruby-throated hummingbird 1 Vesper sparrow 6 Savannah sparrow 1 American goldfinch Yellow-shafted flicker 1 Unknown warbler 5 Short-billed dowitcher 1 Unknovn thrush 5 Pectoral sandpiper 1 Eastern meadowlark 4 Semi-palmated sandoier 1 Dark-eyed junco 3 Common SniDe 1 Ovenbird 3 Pied-billed arebe 1"Catbird 2 Vhite-throated sparrow 1.Rose-breasted grosbeak 2 Blackpoll warbler 1 FO1se sparrow 2 Unknown duck 1 B.ack e d.k 2 dove 2 Total 286-8yed vireo 2 2-.7.5, 1-15 91  
Eight observers were used on seven of the nine walks.       Six and ten observers were each used once. The observers lined up perpendicular to the lines for one set of poles.     The outside observers were just outside the outer lines.       Once 2.7.5.1-4
.5-i Table 2.7.5.1-2.
 
this was accomplished,   equal spacing was established between the observers. The observers then walked slowly beneath the lines searching for dead birds. The group would then walk back the lines from the second set of poles (Figure 2.7.5.1-1).
Every dead b'rd found was recorded by species and area and then buried,   except for a few of the most recent kills, which were sent to the University of Minnesota where they were examined to determine the cause of death.
An Analysis of Variance (Steel and Torrie 1960) was used to determine if there was a significant difference between the number of birds found and the date or area searched. In addition, the Newman-Keuls Analysis (Winer 1963) was used by Dr. Edward Mealy of the Mathematics Department of the Univer-sity of Wisconsin at River Falls, to determine whether there was a significant difference between the birds killed in the various areas and if   so, which areas contained significantly greater numbers of dead birds.
2.7.5.1.4     Results During the three years of the study, 286 dead birds representing 45 species and four unknown categories were found (Table 2.7.5.
1-1). There were 96 individuals representing 34 species found in 1974, 105 individuals and 25 species in 1975,   and 85 indi-viduals representing 19 species in 1976.
Five species made up over 50 percent of the birds found (Table 2.7.5.1-1). These species were starlings (42), mourning 2.7.5.1-5
 
doves (37),     red-winged blackbirds (27),   common grackles (20),
and brown-headed cowbirds (18).
I The greatest number of dead birds were found in Areas 2 (69),
10 (45),     3 (43), and 11 (37),   which were perpendicular to the migration corridor of the Mississippi River (Table 2.7.5.1-2).
Area 4 ranked fifth with 28 dead birds.         Many of these were found where the lines above the area cornered with those above Area 3.
The Analysis of Variance indicated there was a -significant difference in the number of dead birds collected by areas be-tween poles and by ( date.     The calculated F values were 6.85 for areas and 3.57 for dates.       The tabular F values were for areas:     F             = 2.45, and for dates:     F( 8 88 05  ) = 2.97.
The Newman-Keuls Analysis of the data showed that a signifi-cantly greater number of dead birds were observed in Areas 2, 3, and 10 than were found in the other nine areas.           When the data were pooled, the numbers were totaled for the two areas that were parallel to one another; e.g.,       (1,   12), (2, 11),
(3, 10),   (4, 9), (5, 8), and (6, 7). There was a signifi-cantly greater number of dead birds found in areas (2,           11) and (3,   10) in comparison with the other areas.
r 2.7.5.1.5       Discussion and Conclusion The areas that had significantly higher bird kills were all perpendicular to the migration corridor along the Mississippi 2.7.5.1-6
 
River. The only other lines that were arranged more or less perpendicular to the migration corridor were those lines above Areas 6 and 7. The reason for the lower kill in those areas is unknown, but it may have been due to several factors. These areas were a different type of habitat; e.g., an oak forest with a dense understory. This may have made locating dead birds much more difficult. In addition, the trees may have resulted in many birds migrating higher .and passing over the wires or moving through the tree tops passing under the wires.
Approximately the same number of dead birds were found under the lines, each year, even though the composition was not the same.
Birds sent to the University of Minnesota for autopsies had broken necks and lacerations, which indicated they had struck hard objects (Dr. Duane Warner, personal communication).
One of the factors believed to be important in affecting the number of birds found was the increased vegetative growth under the lines from year to year or from spring to fall. However, this may not be true, since the ground under'the lines was burned in the spring of 1976 and a prolonged drought greatly reduced growth of vegetation. Even so, a smaller number of birds were found on the June and September walks.
NTot all the birds that hit wires were killed. In 1974, an immnature male wood duck was found that had a severe bruise and laceration just above the bill. There was also a minor laceration on the right wing. Another instance was a mourning 2.7.5.1-7
 
dove that was picked up unable to fly. It was kept three days, banded, and flew away when released.
The wide variety of birds found under the transmission lines was certainly a minimum estimate of the numbers killed. Th-is was because of many factors. The fact that only one sample was conducted in April, May, and September made it unlikely that the sampling was conducted after a peak night migration.
Sampling should be done more often, especially during the time of peak migration in order to obtain a better estimate of the kill. Another problem was that birds could strike the wires and flutter down outside of the search area. This problem was minimized by the open nature of the ground, which permitted observers to see several meters from their lines of walk.
Another problem would be birds that were only crippled by the wires and moved out of the search area. The presence of a large number of neighborhood dogs and cats that could pick up
*! dead and crippled birds and carry them out of the search areas
* would also have contributed toward a lower estimate of the kill.
Other studies have indicated that bird mortality occurs from striking transmission lines.% A North Dakota study (McKenna and Allard 1976), reported finding 244 dead birds representing 18 species on the 11 days sampled between May 31 and August 24.
These birds were killed by striking transmission lines per-pendicular to the crossing between two lakes. The four species which made up about 80 percent of the total all tended to be low-flying species.
2.7.5. L-8
 
A study prepared for the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (Arend 1970) in California seemed to contradict results found in the Prairie Island and North Dakota studies. Arend (1970) stated:   "Electric power transmission lines mounted on steel towers cause very minor avian loss, and their adverse eco-logical impact on avian populations is negligible."   The transmission lines he refers to are those that carry over 60 KV. His study had a major drawback in that much of the information was based on written inquiries from various indi-viduals and agencies and pertained to occasions where large numbers of birds were killed. The report did not deal with comprehensive studies, but instead was based more on casual observations. In addition, many of these inquiries involved birds that normally are found in heavily vegetated areas, where even large numbers of dead or injured birds could go unnoticed.
At Prairie Island, the similarity in the numbers found from year to year indicated that this technique is an adequate low-cost method to obtain an index of the numbers and com-position of the birds killed by striking transmission lines in an area. To obtain a better estimate of the number of birds killed, the number of walks should be increased. In addition, the areas should be walked during the breeding season in an attempt to determine whether many nesting birds are killed or whether they avoid the lines. Preliminary observations seem to indicate that many local nesting birds are killed.
2.7.5.1-9
 
It appears that the best way to reduce bird kills is to locate transmission lines parallel to bird migration corridors to as great a degree as possible, since locating them perpendicular to the line of migration results in many more birds being killed. Additional information supporting this contention is found in a study by Beer and Ogilvie (1972),   who stated:
  "Wires are particularly lethal when they run across rivers and channels, or pass close to sites holding large concen-trations of birds."   The impact of transmission lines perpen-dicular to a migration corridor is   further evidenced by a statement from the Environmental Assessment for a Proposed Crossing of the Mississippi River by a 161 KV Transmission Line. The assessment stated:
Leigh H. Fredrickson, Gaylord Memorial Laboratory, who is presently conducting a study involving the effects of power lines on avian movements, stated that power lines running across the Mississippi River at right angles to waterfowl flight paths, coupled with the timber-marsh funneling effect, would cause seiious
-*      losses.
Other factors that should be considered in locating .trans-mission lines are local terrain features such as forested areas and bluffs, and the heights at which birds normally fly when passing over these areas. At Prairie Island it appears that birds strike the lines and are killed more often where vegetation below the lines is   low than where it is high.
Unfortunately, this is hard to document because of the scarcity of forest habitat in the study area.
2.7.5.1-10
 
2.7.5.1.6     Literature Cited I
J Anonymous. 1976. Proposed Genoa-Lansing 161 KV Transmission Line Crossing Through the Upper Mississippi River Wild-Life and Fish Refuge. Lansing District. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Environmental Assessment.
Arend, Phillip H. 1970.     The Ecological Impacts of Trans-mission Lines on the Wildlife of San Francisco Bay.
Report prepared for Pacific Gas and Electric Company.
Beer, J. V. and M. A. Ogilvie. 1972. In The Swans: Scott, P.. 1972: 129-130. Michael Joseph, LTD.     London.
McKenna, M. G. and G. E. Allard. 1976.       Avian Mortality from Wire Collisions. North Dakota Outdoors.     39(5): 16-18.
Steel, R. G. D. and James H. Torrie.     1960. Principles and Procedures of Statistics. McGraw-Hill Book Company.
Winer, B. J. 1962. Statistical Principles in Experimental Design. McGraw-Hill Book Company.
2.7.5.1-i1
 
S*$'
a ftj Flow (D       to"'
la9.                        of River ,
0 0     CD 1
t,~
3        2 (D i' 10 (Di-4 12 9
W           H   a H         CDH
_5 0~
5 2=                0 8
OW -
X = Towers H
(D 6
7 lion River
 
Table 2.7.5.1-1. Surmmary of birds collected by species under the transmission lines from the Prairie Island Nuclear Gienerating Plant.
                                'Number                                       ".umber Species                         found         Species                       found Starling                           42           Yellow throat                     2 Mourninig dove                     37           Killdeer                         2 Red-winged blackbird               27           xreat blue heron.                 1 Conmon Grackle                     20         House wren                         1 Brown-headed cowbird               18           Hungarian partridge               1 Unknown unkno-rn                   15           Swamp sparrow                     1 Ring-necked pheasant               13           Chestnut-sided warbler           1 Sora rail                           9           Tennessee warbler                 I American coot                                   Field sparrow                     1 Robin                               8           Ruduy duck                       I Unknown sparrow                     8           Green heron                       1 Western meadowlark                 7           Northern oriole                   l Wood duck                           6           Ruby-throated hummingbird         1 Vesper sparrow                     6           Savannah sparrow                 1 American goldfinch                             Yellow-shafted flicker           1 Unknown warbler                     5         Short-billed dowitcher           1 Unknovn thrush                     5         Pectoral sandpiper               1 Eastern meadowlark                 4           Semi-palmated sandoier             1 Dark-eyed junco                     3         Common SniDe                     1 Ovenbird                           3         Pied-billed arebe                 1 "Catbird                             2         Vhite-throated sparrow             1
. Rose-breasted grosbeak             2         Blackpoll warbler                 1 FO1se sparrow                     2           Unknown duck                     1 B.ack d.ke                      2 dove                       2           Total                         286
      -8yed vireo                     2 2-.7.5, 1-15 91
 
                                                                                                              .5-i Table 2.7.5.1-2.
Summary of the birds collected under the transmission lines from the Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant by date from 1974-1976.
Summary of the birds collected under the transmission lines from the Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant by date from 1974-1976.
Area #1.Species 21 Apr. 23 May 13 Sept. 19 Apr.197A 1974 1974 1975 23 May 12 Sept.1975 1975 16 Apr. 3 June 10 Sept.1976 1976 1976 Total-I Starling Unknown Sparrow Catbird Robin Red-winged Blackbird Dark-eyed Junco Unknown Brown-headed Cowbird Great Blue Heron Area #2.Brown-headed Cowbird Starting Vesper Sparrow Unkcnown Ring-necked Pheasant Sora Rail Rose-breasted Grosbeak Mourning Dove American Coot American Goldfinch Red-winged Blackbird 1 1 0 0 0
Area #1.
Species          21 Apr. 23 May  13 Sept. 19 Apr. 23 May  12 Sept. 16 Apr. 3 June    10 Sept. Total 197A      1974    1974        1975        1975      1975      1976      1976    1976 Starling            1        0        1          0            0      0          i          0        0        3 Unknown Sparrow      1        0        0          0            0      0        .0            0      0          1 0        1        0          0            0      0            0          0      0          1 Catbird Robin                0        0        0          2            1      0            0          0      0          3 Red-winged                    0        0          1          0      0            0          0      0          1 Blackbird        0 1                                                    0          1 Dark-eyed Junco              0        0                      0      0            0          0 Unknown            0        0        0                        0      0            0          0      0          1 0        0                                  1      0            0          0      0          1 Brown-headed                            0          0 Cowbird          0 Great Blue Heron              0        0          0            0      0            0          0      1          1
-I Area #2.
Brown-headed        1 1      1        0          0            0      0            1          1      1 Cowbird Starting            3        0        1          2                    0            4                  0      12 Vesper Sparrow      1        0        0          0            0      0            0          0        2        3 Unkcnown            1        0        0          3            0      0            0                  0        5 1        0:                                1                              0I                6 Ring-necked                            1          1                    0            1                  0 Pheasant Sora Rail          1                  2.          0            0      1          0                    2        7 0        2        0          0            0      0          0                    0        2 Rose-breasted Grosbeak 0
Mourning Dove      0        I        1          0            1      1          1          3        1          9 American Coot      0        0       


==SUMMARY==
==SUMMARY==
OF THE CH.I-SQUARE, ANALYSIS Areas+i-=ia 2Z-1.]Areas 3~-.1 0 fl F Areas.: 4-9ý:Areas 0' E:eaS 0. E SDre)AIes 0.F.:TotalI Mourtning dove 'IJ.... .." :2.,L .+..... .,2i _..:2i.L.:8:
OF THE CH.I-SQUARE, ANALYSIS Areas                   .Are*aS                Areas          Areas.:        :Areas            :eaS
: ' ,.... +.! .s .9. ._..8 4. , .* ,+8, L.:l7.,.-..~  
                                    +i-=ia                   2Z-1.]               3~-.1 0           4-9ý 0                    fl      F                      0'       E           0. E         :TotalI SDre)AIes                                                         .F.
.... '3..s -.S~taring 74' 2.3. 23 24.7 ' 19 6.0 6 .6.2 54.4 2 3.3 "57 Red -w:inged blackbitrd 2 .3 113.4 5 8.7T '3 3.4: 2.4 z. 8 31 Gr0a,1e o L 10 106.8 r6 2.6 dk 19A IQ0 6,.,4 24 Brown-headed coWbi rd& T A' .9 101. 0 10 6.5 ..0 21.5 1..8- 0. 3 0213 RAing-nqecked pheas-ant 0.8 112 :82 2 5'..4 2 2. 1 1.5 2 1.. 19 Sorag rail .l0I.7 .4 _._ 5 4.8 0 1. 0 1.3 1. 14.0J 17 American cot. 2 0-,5 "' I ,2 4.. '0 1.3 '0.9 2' 0.7 -12 Total 100.0 o 106 106.2 69 -6,9. 27 2.8 1:9: 90 14 14.1 2.45 w H Cal cula'ted X.9-,:6 10. 116.A8,.4 9.-67 t. 8.57 11 w59 58.1* +Observed** Expected.X 2 3 5 (,5 *.80) k 1'~-~*PRAIRIE ISLAND NUCLEAR GENERATING PLANT ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING PROGRAM 1978 ANNUAL REPORT ECOLOGICAL STUDIES SPECIAL STUDIES NUMBER AND COMPOSITION OF BIRDS KILLED BY STRIKING TRANSMISSION LINES FROM THE PRAIRIE ISLAND NUCLEAR GENERATING PLANT-(3.1)Prepared for Northern States Power Company Minneapolis, Minnesota by Stephen V. Goddard.Biology Department University of Wisconsin River Falls, Wisconsin 3.1-1%
Mourtning dove       .  .
3.1 BIRDS KILLED BY STRIKING ELECTRICAL TRANSMISSION LINES.3.
                          'IJ....   "     :2.,L .+..... .,2i _..:2i.L.:8: : ' ,....+.! .s . 9.   ._..8 6.*.+ ,           ,+8,
                                                                                                                        .*4. L.:l7.,.-..~ ....   -
                                                                                                                                                    '3..s   .
S~taring                                 2.3.         23         24.774'  ' 19       6.0 6       .6.2                     2         3.3 54.4  "57 Red -w:inged blackbitrd         2       .3                     113.4         5       8.7T   '3     3.4:             2.4
: z.                 8     31 Gr0a,1e r6 dk                        o         L                         10         IQ0 106.8   6,.,4       2.6                  19A                      24 w Brown-headed coWbi rd&         A' T          .9               0 101.           0       10     6.5   ..       21.5               1..8- 0213
: 0.         3 H
RAing-nqecked pheas-ant                   0.8           112       :82         2       5'..4 2       2.     1         1.5   2         1.. 19 Sorag rail                   .l0I.7                           4. _._ 5             4.8   0   1.         0       1.3     1.         14.0J   17 American cot.                   2         0-,5         "'
I           ,2       4..     3.4*  '0       1.3             '0.9   2'         0.7     -12 Total                           100.0o                  106       106.2     69       -6,9. 27     2.8     1:9:       90   14         14.1   2.45
: 10. 116.                                        t. 8.57              11 w59    58.1 Cal cula'ted X                           .9-,:6                                       A8,.4         9.-67
  *   +Observed
  **   Expected Tabul*ar .X 2       *.80 35 (,5
                                                                                                                                                          )


==1.1 INTRODUCTION==
PRAIRIE ISLAND NUCLEAR GENERATING PLANT ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING PROGRAM 1978 ANNUAL REPORT ECOLOGICAL STUDIES SPECIAL STUDIES k
1'~-~*
NUMBER AND COMPOSITION OF BIRDS KILLED BY STRIKING TRANSMISSION        LINES FROM THE PRAIRIE ISLAND NUCLEAR GENERATING PLANT
          -(3.1)
Prepared  for Northern States Power Company Minneapolis, Minnesota by Stephen V. Goddard
                      .Biology Department University of Wisconsin River Falls,  Wisconsin 3.1-1
%


This is a final report on. a five-year study on bird -mor,-tality caused by birds hitting the transmission lines from the Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant. The study.-was initiated in 1974 and continued through May 1978. The objectiv~es of this study Were to:-1.. Obtain an index of the composition and magnitude of birds killed by striking the lines. at di-ff~er-ent times of the year 2. Determine whether there was a relationship between the -species and number of birds. killed and the different study transects,.3. Ascertain whether there was relationship between the number of birds, killed and the orientation of the transmission lines to the Mississippi River 4. Obtain-an estimateof the number of birds striking the transmission lines which were subsequently, removed by predators.
3.1       BIRDS KILLED BY STRIKING ELECTRICAL TRANSMISSION LINES.
3.
3.


==1.2 DESCRIPTION==
==1.1        INTRODUCTION==
 
This      is    a  final      report on. a five-year          study on bird -mor,-
tality        caused      by birds    hitting      the transmission lines          from the Prairie            Island Nuclear Generating Plant.                The study.-was initiated          in    1974    and  continued      through May 1978.            The objectiv~es of this study Were to:
                -1.. Obtain an index of the composition and magnitude of birds killed by striking the lines. at di-ff~er-ent times of the year
: 2. Determine        whether      there    was  a  relationship between      the -species and      number of birds. killed and the different study transects,
                .3. Ascertain whether there was relationship between the number      of birds, killed and the orientation of    the transmission lines to the Mississippi River
: 4. Obtain-an        estimateof        the number of birds striking        the transmission lines which were subsequently, removed by predators.
3.
 
==1.2        DESCRIPTION==
OF .THE STUDY AREA The      study area has been described                      in  a previous      report (Goddard 1977.
3.1.3 -METHOD            OF PROCEDURE The method            of    procedure      was    similar    to  that described      in earlier reports (Goddard                  1977 and 1978).        During 1978,      walks 3.1-3
 
                                                                  -A were again conducted on a weekly basis from April 22 to May 27. All fresh kills were marked with a pole topped by a yellow plastic flag which was located approximately 3-4 meters to the right of a dead bird.      Subsequent observations were made to determine whether the bird had been eaten or removed by predators.      Observations were recorded whether feathers or any other evidence remained if the bird was removed by a predator.        The location and species were recorded for all the kills observed.      A chi-square analysis (Steel and Torrie 1960) was conducted to determine if there was a dependent relationship between species killed and the transect in which the kill was-observed.
3.1.4  RESULTS During. 1978 there were 68 birds representing 20 species found during the six walks.        For the five years of the study, there were 453 birds representing 53 species and five unknowns found.      The species, number, and percentage com-position of the sample is shown in Table 3.1-1.
Eight species made up approximately 63 percent of the sample. These species. were mourning dove (16.1 percent),
starling (15.7 percent), red-winged blackbird (7.3 percent),
common grackle (7.3 percent), brown-headed cowbird (5.7 percent), ring-necked pheasant (4.4 percent), American coot (3.7 percent), and sora rail (2.4 percent).        Twenty-three species were represented by a single kill.
There was a statistically    significant difference in the number of birds found dead by date and transect.      About 64 percent of the dead birds were found in only four transects (Table 3.1-2).      These were Transect 2 (20.8 percent),
Transect 10 (15.5 percent), and Transects 3 and 11 (14.0 percent each). These four transects are all located per-pendicular to the Mississippi River. Transects 6 and 7 were 3.1-4
 
located more or less perpendicular to the Vermillion River.
However, only 7.3 percent .of the dead birds were found in these two transects.              The other six transects accounted for:-
the remaining 28.4 percent of the sample.
During      the    last  part of      the study,      26 of the        fresh kills were marked.          On subsequent walks, 12..were still                  present as were feathers from three others.                      No trace remained of the other      11. Approximately          42  percent      of    the dead      birds disappeared without a trace.
3.1.5      DISCUSSION. AND CONCLUSIONS The 53 species of dead birds recorded                      indicated that a wide variety      of birds migrating            through or      living      in  the  study area are killed          by    striking      the transmission          lines.      How-ever,    the transmission          lines result        in    a greater number of deaths in only a few species.                  This is    indicated by the fact that 23 species were represented by a single kill.
The    large    number    of mourning        doves killed          was undoubtedly attributable        to their      nesting      in  the. area.        Most mourning doves nested        in  a conifer plantation about 100 meters north of Areas 2 and 11 and about 200 meters northeast of Areas 3 and 10.
The relatively large number of starlings killed was probably because they are early migrants,and because they passed through      the  study    area    in    large numbers        during periods        of inclement      weather.        The same reasons were probably                    true for grackles        and  red-winged        blackbirds,      but they were        not killed      in  such great numbers.                The low kill          of grackles is    also unusual,because              they nested        in  the highest num-bers of      any  species    in  the study area.            In  addition,    many
. grackles nested            in    the    same    stand    of    conifers      as  the mourning doves.
0                                        3.1-5
 
                          -...
The large number of ring-necked pheasants was not expected, since. it was felt that few of them would fly high enough to strike the transmission lines.      It is possible that some of them may have been killed by predators using the transmis-sion towers as perches. The kills may have been simply a function of density, since 60 percent of the kills were found in Transects 2 and 11, which passed through some of the best pheasant habitat at Prairie Island.
The number of coots and sora rails        killed was probably because they are nocturnal migrants, and most of them were found following a period when it rained at night, and there was a low ceiling that caused migrating birds to fly lower.
Since six of the eight species killed in the highest numbers nested in from high to very high numbers in the study area, it seems apparent that many nesting birds were killed.        In many cases, the loss of a nesting parent would also result in a loss of its young.
The significant difference between the number of birds killed by date is not surprising, when considering the duration and tremendous variation in weather that occurred
*during the study. The largest kills were recorded when it had  been raining,  and/or  there was  a low ceiling on the    b:,
nights preceding the walks. Few birds were found when the previous nights had been clear and mild.
Generally, larger numbers of dead birds were found in spring; this was because of several factors.        First, the weather fluctuated to a greater degree. Second, the vegeta-tion was just starting to grow and was not as dense as it would be later in the fall.      Third, more counts were con-ducted in the spring, which increased the possibility- of a walk taking place after a night when a large number of birds had been killed. Fourth,  the fall walks were conducted 3.1-6
 
early in the migration period when the weather was more conducive to nocturnal migration.                      The clear nights would result    in    nocturnal      migrants      flying    higher,    thus  passing over the transmission lines.
The    significant          difference.. between the number of birds killed    in    the    four transects was due& to the orientation of the    transmission          lines    perpendicular        to  the  migration corridor along the Mississippi River.                    There was an average of  16 percent          of birds killed        in  each of these      four tran-sects.      This was contrasted            with    an average of' only 4.5 percent of the birds killed for each of the remaining eight
*transects.
However,        low    numbers    of    dead    birdsi    an average    of  3.7.
percent,- were recorded            for    two transects,      which were ori-ented    at    an    angle  of about 50 degrees          in  relation  to. the Vermillion        River.      There are several possible explanations for  this      phenomenon.        The length of the lines was the shortest        because    they crossed        over the river.        These were the only transects that ran through a forest area.                        For much' of their length, the lines were at or below the tops of the trees.      It    is  certainly possible that the trees caused birds to fly higher and thus avoid the lines.                      This would even be true when there            was a low cloud          ceiling.      Birds moving through the tree tops would be flying slower and could more easily    avoid      the  lines    or even pass        under  the lines. In addition,      there was      an accumulated        leaf litter    and a heavy undergrowth which made              it  more difficult        to locate dead birds.
The number of birds            found was certainly a minimum estimate of the, kill        and would best be used as an index of the impact of the lines.          Obviously there were dead birds that were not located.        This number was probably not as great as would be true  in    other    habitats because        of  the  open nature    of the 3.1-7
 
terrain and lack of dense vegetation on most of the ground under the transmission lines.        The marked bird study indi-cated that about 42 -percent of the birds were removed by predators.      This figure does not include birds that were removed by predators before the transects were walked and birds were marked,      The 42 percent may not be representative because of the-small samples size (26) of marked birds.          It is also possible that some birds could hit the -wires and flutter away only to-die later from their injuries.          Based on these considerations, it would be safe to state' that the, actual number of birds killed is,        at a minimum, double the number actually found.
Other    studies  have  indicated  that  bird mortality results from striking transmission lines.          A North Dakota study (McKenna and Allard 1976) reported finding 244 dead birds representing 18 species on. 11 sample days between May 31 and August 24. These birds were killed by striking transmission lines perpendicular to a crossing between two lakes.          The four species which made up approximately 80 percent of the kill-were all low flying species.
In a Califopa-sy prepared for Pacific Gas and Electric*
Company,    rend (1970)      ted:
          "Electric power trans ission lines mounted on steel-towers cause very mi or avian loss, and their adverse ecological impa t on avian populations is.
negligible."
The transmission lines referred t ar          ne that carry over 60 kv. A major shortcoming o this stud        is that much of the information was based on written inquiries to indivi-duals and agencies and pertained. to instances where large numbers of birds were killed.      The report did not deal with comprehensive studies, but instead was based more on casual 3.1-8
* observations.          In  addition, many of the inquiries involved species that normally are found in heavily vegetated areas, where even large numbers of dead or injured birds could not easily be located.
The similarity in the number of dead birds found from year to year in the Prairie Island study area indicated that this.
technique      is  an    accurate, low-cost      method  of  obtaining    an index    of    the    number    and  composition      of birds    killed    by striking      transmission        lines  in  that  location.. The  st.udy, also provides base line data that can be used for comparison purposes 'if future studies are deemed necessary.                However, I see no reason for the continuation of this                    study at the present time.
The study indicates that the best way to reduce birds kills resulting from striking transmission lines is to orient the lines      parallel      to bird migration corridors wherever possible.        Locating transmission lines            perpendicular to migration      corridors    will  result    in  many more    birds  being killed.      In  a 1972 study Beer and Ogilvie stated:
              "Wires are particularly lethal when they run across rivers and channels, or pass close to sites holding large concentrations of birds."
The  impact of transmission lines perpendicular                to a migra-tion corridor        is  further evidenced      by a statement from the Environmental          Assessment    for a Proposed Crossing        of the Mississippi        River    by  a 161    kv  Transmission    Line.      The assessment stated:
Leigh H. Fredrickson, Gaylord Memorial Laboratory, who is presently conducting a study involving the effects of power lines on avian movements, stated that    power    lines running      across  the Mississippi 3.1-9.
 
River at right angles to waterfowl flight          paths,-
coupledwith. the timber-marsh funneling            effect, would cause serious losses.
Other  factors that should be considered in locating trans-mission lines are local terrain features such as forested areas and bluffs (which may make the lines more difficult to see)  and  the- heights  at  which  birds  normally  fly  when passing over    these areas.        At Prairie Island it appears that birds strike the lines and are killed more often where vegetation below the- lines is low than where it            is high.
Unfortunately,    this: was difficult    to demonstrate because of the scarcity of forest habitat.          Bird losses can be reduced in  this situation by locating transmission lines so they are below the tops of trees whenever possible.                The birds would then fly higher than the trees,        or at least "flare up" to clear the trees and thus miss the wires.
3.1-10
 
3.1.6    LITERATURE CITED Anonymous. 1976. Proposed Genoa-Lansing 161 KV Transmis-sion Line Crossing Through the Upper Mississippi River Wildlife and Fish Refuge.        Lansing District. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.      Environmental Assessment.
Arend, Phillip H.        1970. The Ecological Impacts of Trans-mission Lines on the Wildlife of San Francisco Bay.
Report prepared for Pacific Gas and Electric Company.
Beer, J. V. and M. A. Ogilvie.        1972. In The Swans:    Scott, 1972: pp. 129-130.          Michael Joseph, LTD.        London.
Goddard, Stephen V.        1977. Number and Composition Killed by Striking Transmission Lines from the of          Birds Prairie
~Island          Nuclear Generating Plant.      NSP 1976 Annual Report    /
~~for        the Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant Vol. 2          /
pp. 2.7.5.1-1 through 2.7.5.1-21.
McKenna,  M. G. and G. E.      Allard. 1976. Avian Mortality from Wire Collisions.        North Dakota Outdoors.      39(5):
pp. 16-18.
Steel, R. G. D. and James H. Torrie.          1960. Principles and Procedures of Statistics.          McGraw-Hill  Book Company.
Winer, B. J. 19,62. Statistical Principles    in  Experimental Design. McGraw-Hill Book Company.
3.1-11
 
Table 3.1-1    Summary of birds collected by species under the transmission lines from the Prairie Island Nuclear
......
:                      Generating Plant Number Species                    Found      Percent Mourning dove                        73          16.1 Starling                            71          15.7 Red-winged blackbird                33            7.3 Common grackle                      33            7.3 Brown-headed cowbird                26            5.7 Unknown unknown                      21            4.6 Ring-necked pheasant                20          4.4 American coot                        17          3.7 Sora rail                            11          2.4 Robin                                10            2.2 Vesper sparrow                        9            2.0 Wood duck                            8            1.8 Dark-eyed junco                      8            1.8 Unknown sparrow                      8            1.8
  .        Western meadowlark                    7          1.5 American goldfinch                    7          1.5 Unknown warbler                        6          1.3 Unknown thrush                        5          1.1 Ovenbird                              5            1.1 Eastern meadowlark                    4            0.8 Killdeer                              4            0.8 Catbird                                3            0.7 Mallard                                3            0.7 Rock dove                            3            0.7
  ......... House wren                            3            0.7 Common snipe                          3            0.7 Northern oriole                      3            0.7 Rose-breasted grosbeak                2          0.4 House sparrow                          2          0.4 Black duck                            2            0.4 3.1-1.3
 
Table 3.1-I    (Continued)
Number Species                  Found  Percent Red-eyed vireo                    2      0.4 Yellowthroat                      2      0.4 Tree swallow                      2      0.4 Savannah sparrow                  2      0.4 Great blue heron                  1      0.2 Hungarian partridge                1      0.2 Swamp sparrow                      1      0.2 Chestnut-sided warbler            1      0.2 Tennessee warbler                  1      0.2 Field sparrow                      1      0.2 Ruddy duck                        1      0.2 Green heron                      1      0.2 Ruby-throated hummingbird          1      0.2 Yellow-shafted flicker            2      0.4 Short-billed dowitcher            1      0.2 Pectorai sandpiper                1      0.2 Spotted sandpiper                1      0.2 Semi-palmated sandpiper          :1      0.2 Pied-billed grebe                1-      0.2 Blue jay                          1      0.2 White-throated sparrow            1      0.2 Tree sparrow                      1      0.2 Blackpoll warbler                  1      0.2 Hooded merganser                  1      0.2 Unknown duck                      1      0.2 Rusty blackbird                    1      0.2 Song sparrow                      1      0.2 Virginia rail                            0.2 Total                        443      96.9 3.1-14
 
                                                                                                                  ~
                                                                                      ........................................ .
Prairie Island Table 3.1-2    Summary of the birds collected under the transmission lines from the Nuclear GenerAting Plant by  date from 1974-1978 Transect No 1 SPECIES Brown-hd. Great blue Mourning                              Song          Amer.
Unknown              Red-winged Dark-eyed Unknown  cowbird              heron                            dove sparrow Ovenbird coot Date    Starling sparrow Catbird Robin blackbird      junco 0      0        0      0 1        1      0      0        0        0        0        0                  0 4/21/74                                                                                                                      0      0        0      0 0      1      0        0        0        0        0                  0 5/23/74      0                                                                                                                        0        0      0 0        0        0        0                  0                              0 9/13/74      1        0      0      0                                                                                                                0 1        I        1        0                  0                              0      0        0 4/19/75      0        0      0      2                                                                                                                0 0        0        0        1                  0                              0      0        0 5/23/75      0        0      0      1                                                                                                        0      0 0        0        0                  0                              0      0 9/12/75      0        0      0      0        0                                                                                                      0 0                  0                              0      0        0 4/16/76      1        0      0      0        0        0        0 0                              0      0        0      0 0      0      0        0        0        0        0 6/3/76      0                                                                                                                        0        0      0 0        0        0        0        0                  1                              0 9/10/76      0        0      0                                                                                                              0      0 0        0        0        0                  0                              0      1 4/15/77      0        0      0      0                                                                                                        0      0 W                                                  0        0        0        0.                  0                              0      0 5/13/77      0        0      0      0                                                                                                                0 I-                                                                            0                  0                              0      0        0 0        0      0      0        0        0        0 5/20/77                                                                                        0                              0      0        0      0 Lin                        0      0      0        0        0        0        0 5/27/77      0.                                                                                                                      0        0 1        0        0        0        0-                  0                              0                        0 8/21/77                0      0                                                              0                                              0      0 0        0        0        0        0                  0                              1      0 8/28/77      0        0      0                                                                                                              1      0 0        0        0                  0                              0      0 9/2/77        0        0      0      0        0 0                  0                              0      0        0      0 9/10/77      0        0      0      0        0        0        0                                                                                    1 0        0                  0                              0      0.      0 4/22/78      0        0      0      0        0        0 0                  0                              0      0        0 4/29/78      0        0      0      0        0        0        0 0                0      0 0                0        0        0                  0                                      0                0 5/6/78        0        0      0              0                                                                              0                0 0                0        0        0                  0                                      0                0 5/13/78      00        0      0              0                                                                              0                0      0 0              0        0                          0                  0                                    *0                0 0                        0        0                                                                            0 5/20/78      0                                0        0        0                                                          0      0 0      0      0'                                  0 5/27/78 1                  1                              1      1        1      1 3        1      1      4        1                  1 Total
 
Table 3.1-2  (Continued)
Transect go. 2 SPECIES Vesper            Ring-nk.      Sora  Rose-brst. Mourning Amer. American Red-winged Brown-hd.                                                                    coot  goldfinch blackbird Unknown pheasant      rail    grosbeak  dove Date        cowbird Starling sparrow 1      1            1        0      0      0          0            0 4/21/74                  3          1 0                      2              0          0            0 5/23/74          0        0          0      0 0                    2        0      1      0          o            0 9/13/74          0 1        1          0 0        0      0      1          1            4 4/19/75        0        2          0      3        1          0        0      1      0          0            4 5/23/75        0        1          0      0                                                      -.o 0      1      0                        0 9/12/75        0        0          0      0      0 1
1            0        0              0          o            3 4/16/76                  4          0      0 0        0      3      0          0            1 6/3/76                    1          0        1      1 1            2        0              0          0            0 9/10/76          1        0          2      0      0 1
0                                  0            0        0              0          0            0 4/15/77        0        1          0      0                                    2 0                                  0O          0        0              0          0            0 5/13/77          0        0          0      0 0        0      1      0          0            0 w    5/20/77        0        4          0      0      0                              1 0        0      0      0          0            0 ,
I-..                0        0          0      0        0 5/27/77.                                                                          0      0          0            0 I-.                  0        0          0      0      0            0        0      1 8/21/77                                            00                            0      0          0            0 0        0          0      0                    0        0 8/28/77                                              0                            0      0          0            0 0        0          0      0                    0        0 9/2/77                                              0            0                1      0          .0            0 0        0          0      0                              0 9/10/77                                              0            0                0      0          0            0 00        0          0      0                              0 4/22/78                              0              0            0                0      0          0            0 0        0                  0                              0 4/29/78                              0                            o*        0      0      0          0            0 5/6/78          0        0                  0 0      1      1            0          0 0      0        .0            0 5/13/78        0        0 0      0      0            o.              0,      0          0            0 0        0                                                0 5/20/78                              0      0      0                                    0          0            0 0                                                0 5/27/78 6      8          .7        2    14      1          1            12 Total          5      17          3
                                                                                                    .          .,  .1;.
                                                                                    -  .
__________
                                                                              .,.-
                                                                ~..
                                                ~
                                    ;...-~
 
                                                                                                            ...
                                                                                                              . ..........
Table 3.1-2 (Cont inued )
Transect No. 2 SP.ECIES House    Wood House  Unknown Unknown Baltimore common        Slate-col.        common sparrow    duck  wren  thrush sparrow oriole      grackle      junco    Mallard  snipe Date    -
0      0      0      0      0 0            0          0        0        0
    .4/21/74                                                                      0      0      0      0 0          0        0        0        0.
5/23/74          0                                                                          0 0        0        0      0      0 9/13/74          0            0          0 1      1      0      0      0 0            0          0        0        0 4/19/75                                                                        0      1      0      0 0          0        0        0        0 5/23/75          0                                                                          0      0.
0        0        0        0      0 9/12/75          0                                                                          0      0 0        0        0      0      0 4/16/76          0            1 0          0 1      1 0        0        0      0      0*
6/3/76          0            0          0 0      0 0        0        0        0.      0      0 9/10/76          0            0                                                            0      0 2        0        0        0      0      0 4/15/77          0                                                                          0      0 0        0        0        0      0      0 5/13/77          1                                                                          0      0 0O        0        0        0      0      0 5/20/77          0            0                                                                    0 I-J                                                    0        0        0      0    0      0 5/27/77          0            0          0 0      0      0      0      0 0            0          0        0        0 8/21/77                                                                      0      00    0      0 0          0        0        0        0 8/28/77          0                                                                          0      0 1          0        0        0        0      0    00 9/2/77          0            0                                                                    0 1                            0        0      0      0      0 0                      0        0 9/10/77                                                                      0      0      0      0 1          0        1        1        0 4/22/78          0                                                                          0      0 0        0        0        0      0      0 4/29/78          0            2                                                                    0 0        0        0      0            0 5/6/78--        0                      0
: 0.      "0      0'    0      0      0 0                      0,        0 5/13/78                                                                      0              0    0 0          .0          0        0        0        0 5/20/78                                                              0                    0      0 0          0        0        0                0 5/27/78          0 1        11211          2      1 Total1                    Toal17      2        1
 
Table    3.1-2  (Continued)
Transect
    'No. 3 SPECIES Chestnut-sd. Mourning Black        Sora  American unknown              Eastern  Hungarian Swamp warbler      dove    duck        rail    coot    Unknown Date        sparrow    Starling meadowlark partridge sparrow 0      0              0    0        0 4/21/74          1          1        1        1          0        0 1          1      1            0    0        0 5/23/74          0          0        0        0          1                                                          o*
0                  .2      0              2    0 9/13/74          0          0.      0        0                    0 1      0              1    1        1 4/19/75          0                  2        0          0        0 0          0      0              0    0        0 5/23/75          0          104      0        0          0 0      0              0    0        0 9/12/75          0            0      0        0          0"        .0 1      0                    0        1 4/16/76          0            4      0        0          0                                          0 0                0                    0        0 i      0        0          0                    0                    0 6/3/76            0                                                  0                                      0        0 0                    0                    0      0              0 9/10/76          0          0                                      0                                      0        0 0        0          0                    0      0              0 4/15/77          0            0                                      0                                                0 0                    1      0                    0 5/13/77-          0          0        0        0                    0 0
0      0                    0        0 00 wu CD 5/20/77          0            1      0        0          0                                          0 0      0                    0        0 5/27/77          0            1      0        0          0              .>                        0 0                  0                    0        0 0        0        0          0                  *0 8/21/77          0                                                  0                                      0        0 0        0          0                    0      0              1 8/28/77          0          0                                      0                                                0 "
0      0              0    0 9/2/77            0          0        0        0          0 0                  0              0    0        0 9/10/77,          0            0      0        0          0 0                  0              0    0        0 0
i      0        0          0                    2 4/22/78                                                              0                                  0    1        0 0        0          0                    2      0 4/29/78          0                                                  0                                      0        0 0                0          0                    0      0              0 5/6/78            0                  0                              0 0                                                  0      0              0    0*        1 5/13/78          0                  0        0          0                                          0 0                  0O                  0        0 0
0      0        0          0                    0 5/20/78                                                              0                                0    0        0
                              .0        0        0          0                    1      0 5/27/78          0 1
4    2        .3 12                  1          1        I        12 Total          1
_____
                                                                                              . S.-.~
                                                            . .
                                                            ..
 
5I S                ~
                                                                                                              -- a Table 3.1-2  (Continued)
Transect No. 3 SPECIES Brown-hd. Western  Common            Field  Spotted Red-wing. Tree American Tennessee meadowlark grackle    Catbird sparrow sandpiper blackbird swallow Date      goldfinch warbler  Ovenbird  cowbird 0          0        0        0      0          0      0 4/21/74        0        0      0        0 0        0        0      0          0        0 5/23/74        0        0      0        0        0 0        0        0      0          0        0 9/13/74        *0        0      0        0        0 0          0        0        0      0          0      0 4/19/75        I        0      0        0 00        0        0      0          0      0 5/23/75        0        0      0        0        0*
0                    0        0      0          0      0 9/12/75        0        1      1        0 1          5        1        1      0          0      0 4/16/76        1        0      0        2 0          1        0        0      0          0      0 6/3/76          0        0      0        1 0          0        0        0      0          0      0 9/10/76        0        0      0        0 0          0        0        0      0          0      0
(.3 4/15/77        0        0      0        0 0          0        0        0      0          0      0 I-.
5/13/77        0        0      0        0                                              1 0          0        0        0      0        .0      0 I-. 5/20/77        0        0      0        0
  ~0 0          0        .0      0      0          0      0 5/27/77        0        0      0        0 0          0        0        0      0
: 0.        0      0 8/21/77        0        0      0        0 0        0          0                0      0          0      0 8/28/77                  0      0 0          0        0        0      0        0        0 9/2/77          0        0      0        0 0          0        0        0      0          0      0.
9/10/77        0        0      0        0 0          0        0        0      0          0      1 4/22/78        0        0      0        0                                                          1 0          0        0        0      0                  0 4/29/78        0        0      0        0 0          0        0        0      0          1      0 5/6/78          0        0      0*        0 0          0"      0      .0      0          0      0 5/13/78        0        0      0        0                                                          0 0        0        0 5/20/78        0        0      0        0        0 0          1        0        0                  0      0 5/27/78        0        0    0          0 3                    7        1        1      1          2      1 Total        2        1
 
0-)
Table 3.1-2    (Continued)
Transect No. 4 SPECIES Red-wg.                      Brown-                Balt-Mourn-                        Red-Western                                                                                                                        black- Ring-nk. headed                          imore American common              ing      Rock          eyed meadow- Unknown Ruddy                                                                                Unknown                      bird        pheasant  cowbird              oriole goldfinch duck Starling grackle                  dove          dove          vireo Date        lark sparrow 0              0            0                  0                0 1                    0            0            0              0                    0 4/21/74      1        1      1                                                                                                                                0            0                  0                0 2            1            1              1                    0                  0 5/23/74      1        0      0        0                                                                                                                                    0                  0                0.
0            0              0                    0                  0              0 9/13/74      0        0      0        0                    0 0            2            0 d                    2                  1              0            0                  D                0 4/19/75      1        0      0        1                                                                                                                                                                          0 0                    0                  0              0            0                  0 1        0      0        1                    0            1            0 0
5/23/75                                                                                                0                    0                  0.              0            0                  0 0O      0      0        0                    0            0            0 0
9/12/75                                                                                                0                    0                  1              1            0                  0 0        1                    2            0            0 4/16/76      0                                                                                                                                0              0            0                  0                0 0                    0            0            0*            0                    0 6/3/76        0              0                                                                                                                                              0                  0                0 0                                    0            1            0              0                    0                  0              0 9/10/76      1              0        0                                                                                                                                                                          0 0                    0                  0              1          0                    0 0      0        0                    0            0            0 4/15/77      0                                                                                                                                0              0            0                  0.                0 0              0                    0            0            0                                    0 5/13/77      0              0                                                                                                                                              0                  1                0 0                                    0            ~0            0              0                    0                  0              0 0 5/20/77      0              0        1                                                                                                                                                        0                0 0                                    0            0            0              0                    .0                  0              0 5/27/77      0'              0        0                                                              0                                                                    0                  0                0 0                                                  0            0              0                    .0                  0              0 0              0        0                    0                                                                                                                                                      0 8/21/77                .0                                                                              0                    0                .0              0            0                  0 0        0      0        0                    0            0            0 8/28/77                                                                                                                                                        0            0                  0                0 00    0        0                    0                          0              0                    0                  0                                                                  0 9/2/77        0        00                                                                                                  0                  0              0            0                  0 0        0                    0                          0              0 9/10/77      0          00                                              0                                                                      0              0            0                  0                1 1                    0                          0              0                    i 4/22/78      0              0                                          01                                                                                                                    0                0 0
0                                1                          0              0'                    0                  0              0 4/29/*78      0              0        0                                                                                                                                                                          0 0              .0                    0                  .0"            0            0                  0' 0              0        0                    0              0 0
5/6/78                                                      1                          0              0*                    0                                  0            0                  0 0              0        0                                  0                                                                    0 5/13/78                                0                    0                          o                                    0                                  0            0                  0                0 0              0                                            0                                                                    0              "0                                                0 5/20/78                                                    0                          0              0                                                                    0                  0 0              0        0                                                                                    0 5/27/78 3                  2              2          1                    1                1
                                .1        6                  6              7            1              1 Total      5          2
                                                                                                                                                                . .  - .* * . : "; * : : * * !* " * '1 * * ;
* i; * *  ; .' -'* 7 :: : ; ' ':: .' '
                                                                                  * * .. " L .. ..  . .  *-. . ' . * . . - . . , ...* *.. . . - '. . . ... .*
                                      *,    - . . . * ..  ...  * . .. . .    . "
 
Table 3.1-2  (Continued)
Transect No. 5 SPECIES Common  Red-winged Ring-nk.          American Eastern    Yellow-th.Dark-eyed Mourning                          blackbird pheasant  Unknown  goldfinch dove. Starling  Robin  grackle Date        meadowlark  warbler    junco 0      0        0          0        0        0 4/21/74          1          0          0        0        0                                              0        0 0          0      0        0.        0 0          0          0        0                                                                0 5/23/74                                                  0          0      0        0          0        0 0          1          0        0                                                                0 9/13/74                                                                    1        1          0        0 0          1        2        1          1 4/19/75          1                                                                  0                  0        0 0        0        0          0      0                  0 5/23/75-        0          0                                                                  1        0        0 0          0      0        0 0          0          0        0                                                      1        0 9/12/75                                                              0      0        0          0 0          0        0        0 4/16/76          0                                                                                      0        1 0        0        0          0*    0        0          0 6/3/76          0          0                                                                                    0 0        0        0          0      0        0          0.      .0 9/10/76          0          0                                                                                    0 0        0        0          0      1        0          0      0 4/15/77          0          0                                                                                    0 0        0        0          0      0        0          0      0 5/13/77          0          0                                                                                    0 0        0        1        0      0        0          0        0 I-.
5/20/77          0          0                                                                                    0 0        0        0          0      0                  0      0 5/27/77          0          0                                                                                    0 0        0          0      0        0          0 8/21/77          0          0          0                                                                0        0 0          0      0        0          0 0          0          0        0                                                      0        0 8/28/77                                                              0      0        0          0 0          0        0        0                                            0 9/2/77          0                                                                  0                            0 0        0      .0          0      0                  0        0 9/10/77          0          0                                                                                    0 0          0      0        0          0 0          0          0o        0                                                      00      0 4/22/78                                                              0      0        0          0 0          0        0        0 4/29/78          0                                                                  0                    a1      0 0        0        0          0      0                  0 5/6/78          0          0                                                                              0      0.
0          0      0        0        "0
: 0.        0          0        0.
5/13/78                                        .0        0          0      0        0          0          0      0 5/20/78          0          0          0                            0                          0 0                0        0                            0 0          0          0        0 5/27/78
                                                                        -1      2        2                            I 2          1                    2        2 Total


OF .THE STUDY AREA The study area has been described in a previous report (Goddard 1977.3.1.3 -METHOD OF PROCEDURE The method of procedure was similar to that described in earlier reports (Goddard 1977 and 1978). During 1978, walks 3.1-3 were again conducted on a weekly basis from April 22 to May 27. All fresh kills were marked with a pole topped by a yellow plastic flag which was located approximately 3-4 meters to the right of a dead bird. Subsequent observations were made to determine whether the bird had been eaten or removed by predators.
Observations were recorded whether feathers or any other evidence remained if the bird was removed by a predator.
The location and species were recorded for all the kills observed.
A chi-square analysis (Steel and Torrie 1960) was conducted to determine if there was a dependent relationship between species killed and the transect in which the kill was-observed.
3.1.4 RESULTS During. 1978 there were 68 birds representing 20 species found during the six walks. For the five years of the study, there were 453 birds representing 53 species and five unknowns found. The species, number, and percentage com-position of the sample is shown in Table 3.1-1.Eight species made up approximately 63 percent of the sample. These species. were mourning dove (16.1 percent), starling (15.7 percent), red-winged blackbird (7.3 percent), common grackle (7.3 percent), brown-headed cowbird (5.7 percent), ring-necked pheasant (4.4 percent), American coot (3.7 percent), and sora rail (2.4 percent).
Twenty-three species were represented by a single kill.There was a statistically significant difference in the number of birds found dead by date and transect.
About 64 percent of the dead birds were found in only four transects (Table 3.1-2). These were Transect 2 (20.8 percent), Transect 10 (15.5 percent), and Transects 3 and 11 (14.0 percent each). These four transects are all located per-pendicular to the Mississippi River. Transects 6 and 7 were 3.1-4-A located more or less perpendicular to the Vermillion River.However, only 7.3 percent .of the dead birds were found in these two transects.
The other six transects accounted for:-the remaining 28.4 percent of the sample.During the last part of the study, 26 of the fresh kills were marked. On subsequent walks, 12..were still present as were feathers from three others. No trace remained of the other 11. Approximately 42 percent of the dead birds disappeared without a trace.3.1.5 DISCUSSION.
AND CONCLUSIONS The 53 species of dead birds recorded indicated that a wide variety of birds migrating through or living in the study area are killed by striking the transmission lines. How-ever, the transmission lines result in a greater number of deaths in only a few species. This is indicated by the fact that 23 species were represented by a single kill.The large number of mourning doves killed was undoubtedly attributable to their nesting in the. area. Most mourning doves nested in a conifer plantation about 100 meters north of Areas 2 and 11 and about 200 meters northeast of Areas 3 and 10.The relatively large number of starlings killed was probably because they are early migrants,and because they passed through the study area in large numbers during periods of inclement weather. The same reasons were probably true for grackles and red-winged blackbirds, but they were not killed in such great numbers. The low kill of grackles is also unusual,because they nested in the highest num-bers of any species in the study area. In addition, many.grackles nested in the same stand of conifers as the mourning doves.0 3.1-5
-...The large number of ring-necked pheasants was not expected, since. it was felt that few of them would fly high enough to strike the transmission lines. It is possible that some of them may have been killed by predators using the transmis-sion towers as perches. The kills may have been simply a function of density, since 60 percent of the kills were found in Transects 2 and 11, which passed through some of the best pheasant habitat at Prairie Island.The number of coots and sora rails killed was probably because they are nocturnal migrants, and most of them were found following a period when it rained at night, and there was a low ceiling that caused migrating birds to fly lower.Since six of the eight species killed in the highest numbers nested in from high to very high numbers in the study area, it seems apparent that many nesting birds were killed. In many cases, the loss of a nesting parent would also result in a loss of its young.The significant difference between the number of birds killed by date is not surprising, when considering the duration and tremendous variation in weather that occurred*during the study. The largest kills were recorded when it had been raining, and/or there was a low ceiling on the b:, nights preceding the walks. Few birds were found when the previous nights had been clear and mild.Generally, larger numbers of dead birds were found in spring; this was because of several factors. First, the weather fluctuated to a greater degree. Second, the vegeta-tion was just starting to grow and was not as dense as it would be later in the fall. Third, more counts were con-ducted in the spring, which increased the possibility-of a walk taking place after a night when a large number of birds had been killed. Fourth, the fall walks were conducted 3.1-6 early in the migration period when the weather was more conducive to nocturnal migration.
The clear nights would result in nocturnal migrants flying higher, thus passing over the transmission lines.The significant difference..
between the number of birds killed in the four transects was due& to the orientation of the transmission lines perpendicular to the migration corridor along the Mississippi River. There was an average of 16 percent of birds killed in each of these four tran-sects. This was contrasted with an average of' only 4.5 percent of the birds killed for each of the remaining eight*transects.
However, low numbers of dead birdsi an average of 3.7.percent,-
were recorded for two transects, which were ori-ented at an angle of about 50 degrees in relation to. the Vermillion River. There are several possible explanations for this phenomenon.
The length of the lines was the shortest because they crossed over the river. These were the only transects that ran through a forest area. For much'of their length, the lines were at or below the tops of the trees. It is certainly possible that the trees caused birds to fly higher and thus avoid the lines. This would even be true when there was a low cloud ceiling. Birds moving through the tree tops would be flying slower and could more easily avoid the lines or even pass under the lines. In addition, there was an accumulated leaf litter and a heavy undergrowth which made it more difficult to locate dead birds.The number of birds found was certainly a minimum estimate of the, kill and would best be used as an index of the impact of the lines. Obviously there were dead birds that were not located. This number was probably not as great as would be true in other habitats because of the open nature of the 3.1-7 terrain and lack of dense vegetation on most of the ground under the transmission lines. The marked bird study indi-cated that about 42 -percent of the birds were removed by predators.
This figure does not include birds that were removed by predators before the transects were walked and birds were marked, The 42 percent may not be representative because of the-small samples size (26) of marked birds. It is also possible that some birds could hit the -wires and flutter away only to-die later from their injuries.
Based on these considerations, it would be safe to state' that the, actual number of birds killed is, at a minimum, double the number actually found.Other studies have indicated that bird mortality results from striking transmission lines. A North Dakota study (McKenna and Allard 1976) reported finding 244 dead birds representing 18 species on. 11 sample days between May 31 and August 24. These birds were killed by striking transmission lines perpendicular to a crossing between two lakes. The four species which made up approximately 80 percent of the kill-were all low flying species.In a Califopa-sy prepared for Pacific Gas and Electric*Company, rend (1970) ted: "Electric power trans ission lines mounted on steel-towers cause very mi or avian loss, and their adverse ecological impa t on avian populations is.negligible." The transmission lines referred t ar ne that carry over 60 kv. A major shortcoming o this stud is that much of the information was based on written inquiries to indivi-duals and agencies and pertained.
to instances where large numbers of birds were killed. The report did not deal with comprehensive studies, but instead was based more on casual 3.1-8
* observations.
In addition, many of the inquiries involved species that normally are found in heavily vegetated areas, where even large numbers of dead or injured birds could not easily be located.The similarity in the number of dead birds found from year to year in the Prairie Island study area indicated that this.technique is an accurate, low-cost method of obtaining an index of the number and composition of birds killed by striking transmission lines in that location..
The st.udy, also provides base line data that can be used for comparison purposes 'if future studies are deemed necessary.
However, I see no reason for the continuation of this study at the present time.The study indicates that the best way to reduce birds kills resulting from striking transmission lines is to orient the lines parallel to bird migration corridors wherever possible.
Locating transmission lines perpendicular to migration corridors will result in many more birds being killed. In a 1972 study Beer and Ogilvie stated: "Wires are particularly lethal when they run across rivers and channels, or pass close to sites holding large concentrations of birds." The impact of transmission lines perpendicular to a migra-tion corridor is further evidenced by a statement from the Environmental Assessment for a Proposed Crossing of the Mississippi River by a 161 kv Transmission Line. The assessment stated: Leigh H. Fredrickson, Gaylord Memorial Laboratory, who is presently conducting a study involving the effects of power lines on avian movements, stated that power lines running across the Mississippi 3.1-9.
River at right angles to waterfowl flight paths,-coupledwith.
the timber-marsh funneling effect, would cause serious losses.Other factors that should be considered in locating trans-mission lines are local terrain features such as forested areas and bluffs (which may make the lines more difficult to see) and the- heights at which birds normally fly when passing over these areas. At Prairie Island it appears that birds strike the lines and are killed more often where vegetation below the- lines is low than where it is high.Unfortunately, this: was difficult to demonstrate because of the scarcity of forest habitat. Bird losses can be reduced in this situation by locating transmission lines so they are below the tops of trees whenever possible.
The birds would then fly higher than the trees, or at least "flare up" to clear the trees and thus miss the wires.3.1-10 3.1.6 LITERATURE CITED Anonymous.
1976. Proposed Genoa-Lansing 161 KV Transmis-sion Line Crossing Through the Upper Mississippi River Wildlife and Fish Refuge. Lansing District.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Environmental Assessment.
Arend, Phillip H. 1970. The Ecological Impacts of Trans-mission Lines on the Wildlife of San Francisco Bay.Report prepared for Pacific Gas and Electric Company.Beer, J. V. and M. A. Ogilvie. 1972. In The Swans: Scott, 1972: pp. 129-130. Michael Joseph, LTD. London.Goddard, Stephen V. 1977. Number and Composition of Birds Killed by Striking Transmission Lines from the Prairie~Island Nuclear Generating Plant. NSP 1976 Annual Report /~~for the Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant Vol. 2 /pp. 2.7.5.1-1 through 2.7.5.1-21.
McKenna, M. G. and G. E. Allard. 1976. Avian Mortality from Wire Collisions.
North Dakota Outdoors.
39(5): pp. 16-18.Steel, R. G. D. and James H. Torrie. 1960. Principles and Procedures of Statistics.
McGraw-Hill Book Company.Winer, B. J. 19,62. Statistical Principles in Experimental Design. McGraw-Hill Book Company.3.1-11 Table 3.1-1 Summary of birds collected by species under the transmission lines from the Prairie Island Nuclear......: Generating Plant Number Species Found Percent Mourning dove 73 16.1 Starling 71 15.7 Red-winged blackbird 33 7.3 Common grackle 33 7.3 Brown-headed cowbird 26 5.7 Unknown unknown 21 4.6 Ring-necked pheasant 20 4.4 American coot 17 3.7 Sora rail 11 2.4 Robin 10 2.2 Vesper sparrow 9 2.0 Wood duck 8 1.8 Dark-eyed junco 8 1.8 Unknown sparrow 8 1.8.Western meadowlark 7 1.5 American goldfinch 7 1.5 Unknown warbler 6 1.3 Unknown thrush 5 1.1 Ovenbird 5 1.1 Eastern meadowlark 4 0.8 Killdeer 4 0.8 Catbird 3 0.7 Mallard 3 0.7 Rock dove 3 0.7.........
House wren 3 0.7 Common snipe 3 0.7 Northern oriole 3 0.7 Rose-breasted grosbeak 2 0.4 House sparrow 2 0.4 Black duck 2 0.4 3.1-1.3 Table 3.1-I (Continued)
Species Red-eyed vireo Yellowthroat Tree swallow Savannah sparrow Great blue heron Hungarian partridge Swamp sparrow Chestnut-sided warbler Tennessee warbler Field sparrow Ruddy duck Green heron Ruby-throated hummingbird Yellow-shafted flicker Short-billed dowitcher Pectorai sandpiper Spotted sandpiper Semi-palmated sandpiper Pied-billed grebe Blue jay White-throated sparrow Tree sparrow Blackpoll warbler Hooded merganser Unknown duck Rusty blackbird Song sparrow Virginia rail Total Number Found 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1:1 1-1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 443 Percent 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.4 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 96.9 3.1-14
........................................
~ .Table 3.1-2 Summary of the birds collected under the transmission lines from the Prairie Island Nuclear GenerAting Plant by date from 1974-1978 Transect No 1 SPECIES Unknown Red-winged Dark-eyed Brown-hd.
Great blue Mourning Song Amer.Date Starling sparrow Catbird Robin blackbird junco Unknown cowbird heron dove sparrow Ovenbird coot W I-Lin 4/21/74 5/23/74 9/13/74 4/19/75 5/23/75 9/12/75 4/16/76 6/3/76 9/10/76 4/15/77 5/13/77 5/20/77 5/27/77 8/21/77 8/28/77 9/2/77 9/10/77 4/22/78 4/29/78 5/6/78 5/13/78 5/20/78 5/27/78 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0'0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 I 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 Total 3 1 1 4 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Table 3.1-2 (Continued)
Transect go. 2 Date 4/21/74 5/23/74 9/13/74 4/19/75 5/23/75 9/12/75 4/16/76 6/3/76 9/10/76 4/15/77 5/13/77 5/20/77 5/27/77.8/21/77 8/28/77 9/2/77 9/10/77 4/22/78 4/29/78 5/6/78 5/13/78 5/20/78 5/27/78 SPECIES Brown-hd.Vesper cowbird Starling sparrow Unknown Ring-nk. Sora Rose-brst.
Mourning Amer.pheasant rail grosbeak dove coot w I-..I-.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 1 2 1 0 4 1 0 1 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 O 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 o*0 o.0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 1 1 3 1 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0, 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 American Red-winged goldfinch blackbird 0 0 0 0 o 0 1 4 0 4-.o 0 o 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 , 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 5 17 3 6 8.7 2 14 1 1 12-..., .1;.;...-~ ~ ~.. .,.- __________
......................
Table 3.1-2 (Cont inued )Transect No. 2 Date -.4/21/74 5/23/74 9/13/74 4/19/75 5/23/75 9/12/75 4/16/76 6/3/76 9/10/76 4/15/77 5/13/77 5/20/77 5/27/77 8/21/77 8/28/77 9/2/77 9/10/77 4/22/78 4/29/78 5/6/78--5/13/78 5/20/78 5/27/78 SP.ECIES Baltimore common oriole grackle I-J 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 1 1.0 0 Slate-col.
junco 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0O 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0, 0 0 common House Wood House Unknown Unknown snipe sparrow duck wren thrush sparrow Mallard 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 1 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0"0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0'0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0*0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total1 Toal17 2 1 1 11211 2 1 Table 3.1-2 (Continued)
Transect'No. 3 SPECIES unknown Eastern Hungarian Swamp Chestnut-sd.
Mourning Black sparrow Starling meadowlark partridge sparrow warbler dove duck Sora American rail coot CD wu Date 4/21/74 5/23/74 9/13/74 4/19/75 5/23/75 9/12/75 4/16/76 6/3/76 9/10/76 4/15/77 5/13/77-5/20/77 5/27/77 8/21/77 8/28/77 9/2/77 9/10/77, 4/22/78 4/29/78 5/6/78 5/13/78 5/20/78 5/27/78 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0.0 4 1 0 4 i 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 i 0 0 0.0 12 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0" 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.2 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0.> 0*0 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 1 12 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0O 0 1 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0*0 0 2 Unknown 0 01 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 " 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.3 Total 1 I S.-.~.. ..._____
5I S ~ --a Table 3.1-2 (Continued)
(.3 I-.I-.~0 Transect No. 3 Date 4/21/74 5/23/74 9/13/74 4/19/75 5/23/75 9/12/75 4/16/76 6/3/76 9/10/76 4/15/77 5/13/77 5/20/77 5/27/77 8/21/77 8/28/77 9/2/77 9/10/77 4/22/78 4/29/78 5/6/78 5/13/78 5/20/78 5/27/78 American Tennessee goldfinch warbler Brown-hd.Ovenbird cowbird SPECIES Western Common meadowlark grackle Field Spotted Catbird sparrow sandpiper Red-wing.
Tree blackbird swallow 0 0*0 I 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0*0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0*0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0" 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.1 0 0 0 0 Total 2 1 3 7 1 1 1 2 1 0-)Table 3.1-2 (Continued)
Transect No. 4 SPECIES Western meadow- Unknown Date lark sparrow Ruddy common duck Starling grackle 0 4/21/74 5/23/74 9/13/74 4/19/75 5/23/75 9/12/75 4/16/76 6/3/76 9/10/76 4/15/77 5/13/77 5/20/77 5/27/77 8/21/77 8/28/77 9/2/77 9/10/77 4/22/78 4/29/*78 5/6/78 5/13/78 5/20/78 5/27/78 1 1 0 1 1 0O 0 0 1 0 0 0 0'0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 Mourn-ing dove 0 1 0 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 0~0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 Rock dove 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0*0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 o 0 Red-eyed vireo 0 1 0 d 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0'.0 0*0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0.0 0 0 0 i 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0.0" 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0"0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 D 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0'0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 Red-wg. Brown- Balt-black- Ring-nk. headed imore American Unknown bird pheasant cowbird oriole goldfinch Total 5 2 .1 6 6 7 1 1 3 2 2 1 1 1* , -........... ..." .. " L .... ..*- .......' .-., ... ..-'. ..... ..-..: " ; : : " '1 ; i; ; .' -' 7 :: : ; ' ':: .' '
Table 3.1-2 (Continued)
Transect No. 5 Date 4/21/74 5/23/74 9/13/74 4/19/75 5/23/75-9/12/75 4/16/76 6/3/76 9/10/76 4/15/77 5/13/77 5/20/77 5/27/77 8/21/77 8/28/77 9/2/77 9/10/77 4/22/78 4/29/78 5/6/78 5/13/78 5/20/78 5/27/78 SPECIES Eastern Yellow-th.Dark-eyed Mourning meadowlark warbler junco dove. Starling I-.1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0o 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0..0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Robin 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0*0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0-1 Common grackle 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 Red-winged Ring-nk.blackbird pheasant 0 0.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0"0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 a 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 I American Unknown goldfinch Total 2 1 2 2
'ii Table 3.1-2 (continued)
'ii Table 3.1-2 (continued)
Transect No. 6 SPECIES Kg I~Date 4/21/74 5/23/74 9/13/74 4/19/75 5/23/75 9/12/75 4/16/76 6/
Transect No. 6 SPECIES Unknown  Hooded  American          House Wood              Red-eyed Ring-necked Rourning                              coot    Starling  wren vireo    pheasant    -dove    Unknown warbler merganser Date        duck    ovenbird 0        0      0                0 0        0        0          0          0 4/21/74        1                                                                                      0      0 5/23/74        0          0        0        0          0          6      0        0 D            0      0        0      0        0      0 1                  1        a          0 9/13/74                                                            a      0        0      0        0      0 1        1        0       

Latest revision as of 11:24, 14 November 2019

License Renewal Environmental Report Additional Information, Documents Requested During NRC Environmental Review, Terrestrial Ecology, Binder 1 of 1
ML083120228
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Issue date: 09/08/2008
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XcelEnergy-PRAIRIE ISLAND NUCLEAR GENERATING PLANT LICENSE RENEWAL ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Documents Requested During NRC Environmental Review Terrestrial Ecology Binder I of I

Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant NRC Document Request List S Item Number. Document .*

Bree Balsam 29 Floodplain map (NRG) 30 NWI Wetland map (NRG) 31 ER, Chapter 3 Ref: Goddard, 1977 32 ER, Chapter 3 Ref: Goddard, 1978 33 ER, Chapter 3 Ref: Goddard 1979 37 ER, Chapter 3 Ref: NSPCM & FWS, 2002 Page 1 of 1 Rev. 9/8/08

r- - Site Boundary 100 Year Floodplain Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant One Mile Buffer 500 Year Floodplain Flood Plain Map I 0 1,000 2,000 Feet MACIients\M-aMMC\Prairie Island\ ArcGIS\2008\08\ MMC R NWI.mxd 1:32.0001 DATE: 08/13/08 1REVISED: 08/13/08 I DRAWN BY: MLTeichert

N rJ Site Boundary NWI Wetland Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant WOne Mile Buffer NWI Wetland Map 0 0 1,000 2,000 Feet M:\Clients\M-O\MMC\Prairie Island\ ArcGIS\2008\08\_MMCPtNWI.mxd 1:32,0001 DATE: 08/13/08 I REVISED: 08/13/08 I DRAWN BY: MLTeichert

U1 r1-I-PRAIRIE ISLAND NUCLEAR GENERATING PLANT ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING PROGRAM 1976 ANNUAL REPORT ECOLOGICAL STUDIES SPECIAL STUDIES NUMBER AND COMPOSITION OF BIRDS KILLED i

BY STRIKING TRANSMISSION LINES FROM THE PRAIRIE ISLAND NUCLEAR GENERATING PLANT (2.7.5.1)

Prepared for Nqrthern States Power Company Minneapolis, Minnesota by Stephen V. Goddard Biology Department University of Wisconsin River Falls, Wisconsin 2.7.5.1-1

2.7.5.1.1 introduction It is known that many birds are killed each year in the United States by striking transmission lines. The actual number of birds killed is unknown and, in fact, probably cannot be accu-rately determined. In addition, there is the question of the orientation of transmission lines in relation to migration corridors relative to the magnitude of bird kills. A question also arises as to the importance of the time of the year in relation to the number of birds killed.

With these questions in mind, a pilot project was initiated in 1974 as an adjunct of the terrestrial monitoring program at the Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant. Since this was a limited effort, it was not expected that any more than a rough estimate of the composition and number of birds killed by striking transmission lines would be obtained.

The objectives of this study were to determine:

1. An estimate of the composition and magnitude of birds killed by striking transmission lines.
2. An indication of bird mortality at different times of the year.
3. Whether or not there was a relationship between bird mortality and the orientation of transmission lines.
4. Whether there was any relationship between bird mortality and the habitat type traversed by transmission lines.

2.7.5.1-3

2.7.5.1.2 Description of the Study Area The total distance walked beneath the lines was about 4.6 kilo-meters long and 80 meters wide. This would comprise an area covering 36.8 hectares (90.93 acres). The lines crossed a sand dredge spoil which has grown up in willow, cottonwood, and brome and quack grasses (Areas 1, 2, 11, and 12 on Figure 2.7.5.1-1).

The lines then crossed a recently abandoned field (Areas 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, and portions of 6 and 7), which is now beginning to show signs of developing into a more stable area. There is a considerable amount of open ground with predominant plants being hawk weed, panic grass, fall witch grass, and quack grass.

The remaining portions of Areas 6 and 7 went through a young oak forest which contained a good growth of hazel brush as the understory. Areas perpendicular to the migration corridor were Areas.2, 3, 10, 11, and to a lesser degree, 6 and 7.

2.7.5.1.3 Method of Procedure The area under the lines was walked three times in each of the three years of the study. The walks were usually during the third week in April, fourth week in May (once the firstweek of June), and the second week in September, and were timed to coincide with what was believed to be peak bird migration.

Eight observers were used on seven of the nine walks. Six and ten observers were each used once. The observers lined up perpendicular to the lines for one set of poles. The outside observers were just outside the outer lines. Once 2.7.5.1-4

this was accomplished, equal spacing was established between the observers. The observers then walked slowly beneath the lines searching for dead birds. The group would then walk back the lines from the second set of poles (Figure 2.7.5.1-1).

Every dead b'rd found was recorded by species and area and then buried, except for a few of the most recent kills, which were sent to the University of Minnesota where they were examined to determine the cause of death.

An Analysis of Variance (Steel and Torrie 1960) was used to determine if there was a significant difference between the number of birds found and the date or area searched. In addition, the Newman-Keuls Analysis (Winer 1963) was used by Dr. Edward Mealy of the Mathematics Department of the Univer-sity of Wisconsin at River Falls, to determine whether there was a significant difference between the birds killed in the various areas and if so, which areas contained significantly greater numbers of dead birds.

2.7.5.1.4 Results During the three years of the study, 286 dead birds representing 45 species and four unknown categories were found (Table 2.7.5.

1-1). There were 96 individuals representing 34 species found in 1974, 105 individuals and 25 species in 1975, and 85 indi-viduals representing 19 species in 1976.

Five species made up over 50 percent of the birds found (Table 2.7.5.1-1). These species were starlings (42), mourning 2.7.5.1-5

doves (37), red-winged blackbirds (27), common grackles (20),

and brown-headed cowbirds (18).

I The greatest number of dead birds were found in Areas 2 (69),

10 (45), 3 (43), and 11 (37), which were perpendicular to the migration corridor of the Mississippi River (Table 2.7.5.1-2).

Area 4 ranked fifth with 28 dead birds. Many of these were found where the lines above the area cornered with those above Area 3.

The Analysis of Variance indicated there was a -significant difference in the number of dead birds collected by areas be-tween poles and by ( date. The calculated F values were 6.85 for areas and 3.57 for dates. The tabular F values were for areas: F = 2.45, and for dates: F( 8 88 05 ) = 2.97.

The Newman-Keuls Analysis of the data showed that a signifi-cantly greater number of dead birds were observed in Areas 2, 3, and 10 than were found in the other nine areas. When the data were pooled, the numbers were totaled for the two areas that were parallel to one another; e.g., (1, 12), (2, 11),

(3, 10), (4, 9), (5, 8), and (6, 7). There was a signifi-cantly greater number of dead birds found in areas (2, 11) and (3, 10) in comparison with the other areas.

r 2.7.5.1.5 Discussion and Conclusion The areas that had significantly higher bird kills were all perpendicular to the migration corridor along the Mississippi 2.7.5.1-6

River. The only other lines that were arranged more or less perpendicular to the migration corridor were those lines above Areas 6 and 7. The reason for the lower kill in those areas is unknown, but it may have been due to several factors. These areas were a different type of habitat; e.g., an oak forest with a dense understory. This may have made locating dead birds much more difficult. In addition, the trees may have resulted in many birds migrating higher .and passing over the wires or moving through the tree tops passing under the wires.

Approximately the same number of dead birds were found under the lines, each year, even though the composition was not the same.

Birds sent to the University of Minnesota for autopsies had broken necks and lacerations, which indicated they had struck hard objects (Dr. Duane Warner, personal communication).

One of the factors believed to be important in affecting the number of birds found was the increased vegetative growth under the lines from year to year or from spring to fall. However, this may not be true, since the ground under'the lines was burned in the spring of 1976 and a prolonged drought greatly reduced growth of vegetation. Even so, a smaller number of birds were found on the June and September walks.

NTot all the birds that hit wires were killed. In 1974, an immnature male wood duck was found that had a severe bruise and laceration just above the bill. There was also a minor laceration on the right wing. Another instance was a mourning 2.7.5.1-7

dove that was picked up unable to fly. It was kept three days, banded, and flew away when released.

The wide variety of birds found under the transmission lines was certainly a minimum estimate of the numbers killed. Th-is was because of many factors. The fact that only one sample was conducted in April, May, and September made it unlikely that the sampling was conducted after a peak night migration.

Sampling should be done more often, especially during the time of peak migration in order to obtain a better estimate of the kill. Another problem was that birds could strike the wires and flutter down outside of the search area. This problem was minimized by the open nature of the ground, which permitted observers to see several meters from their lines of walk.

Another problem would be birds that were only crippled by the wires and moved out of the search area. The presence of a large number of neighborhood dogs and cats that could pick up

  • ! dead and crippled birds and carry them out of the search areas
  • would also have contributed toward a lower estimate of the kill.

Other studies have indicated that bird mortality occurs from striking transmission lines.% A North Dakota study (McKenna and Allard 1976), reported finding 244 dead birds representing 18 species on the 11 days sampled between May 31 and August 24.

These birds were killed by striking transmission lines per-pendicular to the crossing between two lakes. The four species which made up about 80 percent of the total all tended to be low-flying species.

2.7.5. L-8

A study prepared for the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (Arend 1970) in California seemed to contradict results found in the Prairie Island and North Dakota studies. Arend (1970) stated: "Electric power transmission lines mounted on steel towers cause very minor avian loss, and their adverse eco-logical impact on avian populations is negligible." The transmission lines he refers to are those that carry over 60 KV. His study had a major drawback in that much of the information was based on written inquiries from various indi-viduals and agencies and pertained to occasions where large numbers of birds were killed. The report did not deal with comprehensive studies, but instead was based more on casual observations. In addition, many of these inquiries involved birds that normally are found in heavily vegetated areas, where even large numbers of dead or injured birds could go unnoticed.

At Prairie Island, the similarity in the numbers found from year to year indicated that this technique is an adequate low-cost method to obtain an index of the numbers and com-position of the birds killed by striking transmission lines in an area. To obtain a better estimate of the number of birds killed, the number of walks should be increased. In addition, the areas should be walked during the breeding season in an attempt to determine whether many nesting birds are killed or whether they avoid the lines. Preliminary observations seem to indicate that many local nesting birds are killed.

2.7.5.1-9

It appears that the best way to reduce bird kills is to locate transmission lines parallel to bird migration corridors to as great a degree as possible, since locating them perpendicular to the line of migration results in many more birds being killed. Additional information supporting this contention is found in a study by Beer and Ogilvie (1972), who stated:

"Wires are particularly lethal when they run across rivers and channels, or pass close to sites holding large concen-trations of birds." The impact of transmission lines perpen-dicular to a migration corridor is further evidenced by a statement from the Environmental Assessment for a Proposed Crossing of the Mississippi River by a 161 KV Transmission Line. The assessment stated:

Leigh H. Fredrickson, Gaylord Memorial Laboratory, who is presently conducting a study involving the effects of power lines on avian movements, stated that power lines running across the Mississippi River at right angles to waterfowl flight paths, coupled with the timber-marsh funneling effect, would cause seiious

-* losses.

Other factors that should be considered in locating .trans-mission lines are local terrain features such as forested areas and bluffs, and the heights at which birds normally fly when passing over these areas. At Prairie Island it appears that birds strike the lines and are killed more often where vegetation below the lines is low than where it is high.

Unfortunately, this is hard to document because of the scarcity of forest habitat in the study area.

2.7.5.1-10

2.7.5.1.6 Literature Cited I

J Anonymous. 1976. Proposed Genoa-Lansing 161 KV Transmission Line Crossing Through the Upper Mississippi River Wild-Life and Fish Refuge. Lansing District. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Environmental Assessment.

Arend, Phillip H. 1970. The Ecological Impacts of Trans-mission Lines on the Wildlife of San Francisco Bay.

Report prepared for Pacific Gas and Electric Company.

Beer, J. V. and M. A. Ogilvie. 1972. In The Swans: Scott, P.. 1972: 129-130. Michael Joseph, LTD. London.

McKenna, M. G. and G. E. Allard. 1976. Avian Mortality from Wire Collisions. North Dakota Outdoors. 39(5): 16-18.

Steel, R. G. D. and James H. Torrie. 1960. Principles and Procedures of Statistics. McGraw-Hill Book Company.

Winer, B. J. 1962. Statistical Principles in Experimental Design. McGraw-Hill Book Company.

2.7.5.1-i1

S*$'

a ftj Flow (D to"'

la9. of River ,

0 0 CD 1

t,~

3 2 (D i' 10 (Di-4 12 9

W H a H CDH

_5 0~

5 2= 0 8

OW -

X = Towers H

(D 6

7 lion River

Table 2.7.5.1-1. Surmmary of birds collected by species under the transmission lines from the Prairie Island Nuclear Gienerating Plant.

'Number ".umber Species found Species found Starling 42 Yellow throat 2 Mourninig dove 37 Killdeer 2 Red-winged blackbird 27 xreat blue heron. 1 Conmon Grackle 20 House wren 1 Brown-headed cowbird 18 Hungarian partridge 1 Unknown unkno-rn 15 Swamp sparrow 1 Ring-necked pheasant 13 Chestnut-sided warbler 1 Sora rail 9 Tennessee warbler I American coot Field sparrow 1 Robin 8 Ruduy duck I Unknown sparrow 8 Green heron 1 Western meadowlark 7 Northern oriole l Wood duck 6 Ruby-throated hummingbird 1 Vesper sparrow 6 Savannah sparrow 1 American goldfinch Yellow-shafted flicker 1 Unknown warbler 5 Short-billed dowitcher 1 Unknovn thrush 5 Pectoral sandpiper 1 Eastern meadowlark 4 Semi-palmated sandoier 1 Dark-eyed junco 3 Common SniDe 1 Ovenbird 3 Pied-billed arebe 1 "Catbird 2 Vhite-throated sparrow 1

. Rose-breasted grosbeak 2 Blackpoll warbler 1 FO1se sparrow 2 Unknown duck 1 B.ack d.ke 2 dove 2 Total 286

-8yed vireo 2 2-.7.5, 1-15 91

.5-i Table 2.7.5.1-2.

Summary of the birds collected under the transmission lines from the Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant by date from 1974-1976.

Area #1.

Species 21 Apr. 23 May 13 Sept. 19 Apr. 23 May 12 Sept. 16 Apr. 3 June 10 Sept. Total 197A 1974 1974 1975 1975 1975 1976 1976 1976 Starling 1 0 1 0 0 0 i 0 0 3 Unknown Sparrow 1 0 0 0 0 0 .0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 Catbird Robin 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 3 Red-winged 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 Blackbird 0 1 0 1 Dark-eyed Junco 0 0 0 0 0 0 Unknown 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 Brown-headed 0 0 Cowbird 0 Great Blue Heron 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1

-I Area #2.

Brown-headed 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 Cowbird Starting 3 0 1 2 0 4 0 12 Vesper Sparrow 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 Unkcnown 1 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 5 1 0: 1 0I 6 Ring-necked 1 1 0 1 0 Pheasant Sora Rail 1 2. 0 0 1 0 2 7 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 Rose-breasted Grosbeak 0

Mourning Dove 0 I 1 0 1 1 1 3 1 9 American Coot 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 i1 0 1 '0 American 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 Goldfinch Red-winged O* 0 4 4 0 3 1 0 12 Blackbird

.4 . (C ntinud) 19 Apr.. 23 "ay 12 Sept. ]6 Apr. 3 June 10 Seot. Total Species 21 Aor. 23 May 13 Sent.

197h 197)., 197h 1975 1975 1975 1976 1976 1976 Area Y"2 (Con't) 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 House Sparrow 0 0 1 0 0 ) 1 0 0 0 0 0

':ood Duck 0 .0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 flouse T;ren 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Co:nmon Grackle 0 U1nknown Thrush 0 0 0 0 0 0. 1 .1 0 0 0 0 0 0 Unknown Sparrow 0 0 69 Area Y3*,

Unknown Soarrow 1 0 0 18 1 la St- rl inp, 0 aSte-rn Maadow- I 0 0 3

-I l nrk ul 1 0 0 Hungarian eartridge 1 Swamp Sparrow 0 0

-4 0 Chestnut-sided 0 Warbler 0

0 0

.1ouraing Dove 0 11 Black Duck 0 0 2 Sora Rail 0 0 0 31 hnericarn Coot 0 01 0 1 23 Unknown 0 0 1 2 American Gol 0 0 f.inch 1 Tennessee Warbler 0 0 0 0 00 0 Ovenbird 2 3

',rown-headed 0 0 0

Co!-,b ird 1 Wrjestern ý-Ieadow- 0 0 0 2.

lark 6 Co:gmon Grackle 0 1 1 Catbird 0 1 1 0

Field Sparrow

Table 2.7.5.1-2 (Continued).

Snecies 21 Apr. 23 4ay 13 Sept. 1i Aor. 23 'iay 12 Sept. 16 Apr. 3 June 10 Sept.. Total 1974 1-1h 197b 1975 107q 1?75 lo'76 1976 -l76 Areaa Western ieadow- 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 5 lark Unknown Sparrow 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 Ruddy Duck 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 Starline 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 Common Grackle 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 4 Mourning Dove .0 1 0 2 1 0 0 0 i 5 Rock Dove 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

,Becd-eyed Vireo 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 Unknown 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 Red-winged 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 2 Blackbird Ring-necked 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .1 Pheasant

~28 Area #5.

BEastern Meadow- 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 lark fellow-throat 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 Ilarb1e r Dark-eyed Junco 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 Mourning Dove 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 Starling 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 Robin 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 Co.n*on Grackle 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 tied -v Iinped 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 2 lackb Led Ring-necked 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Pheasant Unknown 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 A~merican 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 Goldfinch 114

.-;----A Table 2.7.5.1-2 (Continued).

Area Y6.

Spec ies 21 Apr. 23 May 13 Sept, 19 Apr. 23 ,cay 12 Sept. 16 Apr, 3 June 10 Sept. Total 1974- i-7b 197h 1975 1975 1975 1976 1976 1976 Wood Duck 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 Ovenbtrd 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 tod-rieyed Viroo 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 IL';s-t--eieked 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2

"!ojr,i L1n :OVe 0 O) 0 0 1 0 1 0 0

Tt(1Ql 0) 0) O) 0 0 0 1 0 0

U C, 0) 0 0 0) 0 1 1 2 12 lia A) "7.

--ood c, 1 0 u U 1 ul 0 U 1

0 0 C) 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 I.-' Siora 1Wi. 0 0 0 0 0 0 I

'9 0 Ova nb ir.i (O~ U 0 0 0 0 1 1 Av'ea '"*

Brown-n-. d ed 0 0 0 a 0 0 0 1 Cowb Lrd 0 Urocti HL-- ron 1 0i,. u 0 0 0 I i

Co.ii on .rac::lo 0 0 0 2 0

0 0 0 0 0 2 Riob £i 0 0 0 21 0 0 0 0 0 2 Vesoer So.* rro, 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 00 0 Wood Duck 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 I loirning Dove O) 0 0 0 00 0 0 :i C

,Ied-, I nged 0 0 0 0 1

  • '1ac'hb 1rd 13-

Area .'o Table 2.7.5.1-2 (Continued).

te AK)1. 23 .:*r 13 t 19 Apr. 23 ,oay 12 Set. 16 Apr. 3 June 10 Sept. Total 197b 1 7I:,

77b 1975 1975 1975 1n76 1976 1976 Co,.on ; ic.:le 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 llnkion Sparro, 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 ourvinr nove 1 .0 i.) 0 ,0 0 2 3

,l..cnD.ck 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 lorthý:!r:, Oriole 0 1 U 0 0 0 0 0 U 1

- t~iroat*.u

.~ U 1 -, 0 C C -) 0 1 S':,-"ra

, .hadco.-- 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 laric 3 tarl ng C0 0 0 0 0 0 ]. C Conuaon Grackle 1 0 1 0 0 U U C 1 3 St*rl iag 1 0 2 1 ) 0 2 3 6 if,1 0 (F (. C (0 (.0 .

(It* *.~.. .

  • -- .;,:(  ; * > r '
  • C.i L" ( "J Vesper Sparrow 1 0 0 0 0 8 0 0 ( 1 0 Savannah Sparrow 1 0 0 0 0 0 ) 0 0 1 Dark-eyed Juwco 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 Mournonr -:ors 1 1 C" 1 0 0 0 1 3rown-h'iaded 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 4 Cv../b i.r,'.

1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 L31* ck<o £r

!zouve Sparrow 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 SnkrIown-!)-, L"le'r ' 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 T -3 :a 0et 1 U 0 0 0 0 1 "hort-. illed V 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 L::o;-. i tcher Lobin I 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 C.)Coot 2 1 0 0 0 0 3 "U.llee r U 0 C, 1 LP 0 0 0 3 Ah ltq-throated 0 I1 U 0 1 U'oo UU0 1 0

Table 2.7.5.1-2 (Continued).

Area 10 (Con't)

Specis 21 Apr. 23 Lai 13 3ept. 19 Adr. 23 i'ay 12 S3.32t, 16 A:r. 3 June 10 Sept. Total 197h 1.74 1974" 1975 1975 1915 19T6 1976 1976 Unknown 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 4 Pectoral Sandpioer 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 Sora '.4ail 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Semri-palmaated 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Sandpi:,ir Area #.11.

Rinp-ne cked 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2

"`heasant Killdeer 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 1

-rown-headed 0 41 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 C

Cowbird "j Sora RaU1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 S1ournInp Dove 0 1 0 2 1 0 1 0 0 5 I Conion Grackle 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 R3aclcpoll Warbler 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 ted-w incd . 1 1 1 0 0 2 0 0 t

  • 31a14rkblr'i Unknown 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 A.merican Coot 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 Vesr)er Sparrow 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1ockDove 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 Starling 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 0 0 4 o) I i 0 0 0 11 0 0 0 0 0 1

'InkIof.t ", rhler 0 0 0 0 1 0 U 0 0 1 Lo'.1O(1 n 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0

!i:.d-r)ll.ed (h'e*je 0i 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 Agterican Cold- U 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 finch Area #12.

Starling 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 Yellow-throat 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 Warbler American Coot 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1

-

4,J IcV1~

PRAIRIE ISA N'UCLEAR GE"NRATING PLANT ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING .PROGRAM.

1917 ANN9C.i;O REtd SPECA ECOLOICA STUDES

'nUMBER AND COMPOSITION OF BIRDSKLLD BY.:STRIKING.TASISO L'INME FROMTH

PRAIRIE I!SLAND* NUCLEAýt GENERTINGI PLANT Prepared. for No~rterzn .States PoWer..company by.

Stephn V. VGodder Biology, epartment Rier Falls. Wisconsin 3'..i-

  • )'.-)
3. 1.1 INTRO~dCtION This study was .contin*ted fo t4 fourth year A repoxr simnar izing data for thle. first, -three years is presehted in Goddardý (1977). The nwnber; of walks udrtasmsir a aa in.creased to determine the nbter: of fresh kills removed frm the study area-by pre ato.s.

Other 6bjectives of this stUdy-were to determine the: folowin:.

  • .in.dexof z*n the, :ompositiLon'a magnitude of birds killedd by striking triaiiimission, li4es.
2. An idicat4o"n of bird mortality at differehnt, times of-the, year (sp-rig and ftall)
3. Whether a relationship existed ,een bird mortality-and the :habitat* te traverped by tansmiss ion0 ine's,
4. Whether a: elationship. qxsted betee b ird mortality.

and thbe orien'tat ion of trianmis sion linesp 3..a DESCRIPTION . MOF E STUDY AREA.

The area has been diescribed n a .earlier 'publication (Goddard i977).-.

_ 3

  • 1*3 METHOD OF, PROCEDUJRE Tlhe method of proce4ure was essentially- the s6e: as that described by .Godard. (.197.:7)., although there were-. changes,.

the late summer and early fall. or 1971, Instead of one alk during: the second week of September, faux walks (one/week) were conducted from Auusq-t 21, though- September 10, 1977..

3 *i1-3

DUring- these walks, fresh kills wer6 marked with a pole topped: by a yellow plastic flag apprdzimately: 4-5 meters to the right, of the dedbr.F llo-p obevationPs were, then made* to determi4e vhether the bird was, eaten or removeod.

by .predatorM. Notee wre taken on whether fea oersor: other evidene. eained if the kill had been r ved. Condition of the kill was noted on subseqent visits Locatiorns and recrdings* of other kil!s were cQnd.uted in the same way as on previousq walks A .hi-square analysis (Steel and Torrie 1960) was opnductedc to detern if there w-f a. aependeht rel~ationlshp between which species were killed on. anyof the 1.21 areas.,

DUrIng 1977, 89. bitrs were. picked up duin.g. eight walks for an. avera e" of 11.1 dead birds per wal TWhere were 24 species and-. two unknw categories o.f deadI b.ds repsnted in the sampi.e.. he species, nt er, and percentage of.birds found durin4 the four years iS! presented in Table 3.1-i. There-were 305 dead birds- found epr.eseentAig 49Y specie.es and. foutr uflknowrn catego2e. The eight. most ccuon, speiser mourning doves (16.,1 percent), starlings (14.8 percent-,

red-winged blackbirds (8.1 percent), conan .grackles (6.2 percent), brown-headed dowbirds (6.0 per ent), ring-necked pheasants (4.9 percet), sara rails (4,.4 percent), and':

merican cOots (3.01 percent). These eightq species madei up 63.6 perPent of. theý birds killed..

The- greatest niiuber of dead birds were foud in Areas 2. (84),

10 (61.)* 1 (53), and 3(49: (Table 3.1-2). These transects

3. 1-4.

were all perpendicular t0 ,the migration corridor of the MiSsissippi Rive.. Approximately 66 percet f- the dead birds recorded warea found in thesae four aireas. Ara4.rne it with. 33 kills and was the only ,other..

ar-ea, with over 20 k~ills-41:

There, w4s a significant difference 14 the number of: bir'ds kil1ed by da4te .(Table 3.1-3). Thereo -was also a. significant diflference. - the. nIImber of bird.s foUnd dead' in the vari'ous areas (.Table31-)

The phi-sqc4arept -aalysi*s sh..6e(dte was an association b~etwdeen the. nurdbers of 'the. eight, most. nmer us spcies and the a-rea where: they werex found dea 1T.hbe 3.1-4).

'recenti tseven ýki!lswe:e located ahd niaked dur*i*g i walks.

During -subequent walks 04ly one A starling (14.2. cent),

hadben.removed ndreanby a predato-r. ivqn ohee was still evidence that.:a bird. had beeh killed in' thatt locatio. (a f-w feathes)

31. 5 DI-SCUtsIx AM.ý. CO'NCLUt O There .was a sigIifica*n,, difference between the numersb of birds killed by da't,. Larger kills were .observed in spring.

This may have been due toseveral factors. First,- vegetation had not star.ed to grow, and., it was net as. dense asi that:

S present When the lines were iwalk*d inthe-fall. second, .more counts were conducted in spring, which iýýcreased týhi chand.e of observin.g a lrge kill. Third,: walks in fall were- early in the migzation. season: so any late migrants were not found'..

in add4tion, early fall .migrants. were probably moving south 3.1-5

under more favorabe weather conditions, and thus may have

.had a greater opportunity to observe and avoid thewfirdslý.

In costra, h ever; fall migrant's include large nWubers of* youg bids unfamilia: with the route Ad its assoeaited dangers. and thuj. could be. expectaed to have ja higher mrtalit' than. spring migrants.

Thiere wa`also a signif icant difference in: te n ber otf birds, killed in the different area*s.. Areas thýat. had' hghest bird kills were perpendicular t te migration corridor along the Miss is-sipi Rie.A oimately 66 peacont ofe zll dead: b'irds were fodO in th ese four area:s.

The only other l-ines that were arranged. perpqendicular, toý the

.miqration corridor were thOs above Arbeas 6 and7,.: These ares rnked nnhadtent ub6r tin of birds kjlljed.ý There "are seVeral probable explana-tions for loer killls. in theseo -two are*as* T hese lindd-es ere loatedl farthest f hA~i Mississippi River and ,were aliso h :teshortest. Undoubtedy, these areas: wobuld. have ranked higher if kill's had been based on bites killeed/km. In addition,* thesea were the oly lies that-were through a.fotested area (oak woodandi). There was also a thick nidergrowth present under the ines,- Utich made it d~if~icult to Iodate dead birds. Areas 2 and 11, however, which had high.. kIi1ls, contaihe tfall, thick grass and a ddense stan fwlos ti possible thattesi the

  • oak forest mfav have caused birds to. fly higher and týus passO over the. wires,. Birdsw that Were moving through tree.. tops would ;h.ave passed uinder the wires.

There was a: significant assocpation between species of bird.

3.1-6

.. -- mmEý--

I ýýý killed and the areas-. Because of the. chi-square test require-Sments, ntin-eis of. Only the eight most n rezous species were suffcýiently large enough for analyoisý. It was also ndeessary to combine the areas; -that were pcaalel wit one. aother.

This should not have caued an error since: the outermost linem of the areas were only about 40 meters apart,.

Si x of the. eight species nested in the.study areas if tfaily high numb era. the other two species (s-ra' rail and America coot) nested in thee, ostudy area*buttn only low nmers.

These tw- sýpeces are night migrants, and' all speciens were ffouna under he linesý closest to the, KissssI p-i andVe--

million Riers. AIL tho sora rails. arn4 160qf 12 coots werei f6oud une lines perpendicular to te migration corridor closest- to. the Misss.sippi River:.

S-hce six of the species ;Oost often. found:-dead were species that nested in very high. to relativel.y high numers in the study arezia many nestin birds may have ben killed by strkikin the lines. AOtIe*r important observation was that tese isi "pecies often flew through or under thel lIes durin the daytime. On one occasion, a mourning d40Ve *s observed atrikin a line, which resulted in a. ibroken wi-s.

The association between. nnumbers of a tpeciesý killed and an area is. An importat intd.ication. An understandig or factor-resultng in this assoc:ation may make; it pbssibie t* :pia

,and design future power lines to reduce mortality;*:. It mAy aiso be possible to reduce mort.ality without, a concomitant ic-dcease. in construction costs.;

3.1-7

P/ Not-all. birds that. hit; wiires we*re killed.. In. 1974 an. iimm ature.

male: wood duck_ was found that had &ýsevere bruise and. lacera.--

tions just above .tho_bi*l. There wasg also a minor lacesoatoa on the rig ht4i*njg Another instance was a mournLng dove .hat was picked 'up: una~ble to Ely. 1-t ws kept tee daysbndd and flew awy when released*.

The.numbert and variety of JbIrds, f'o~un4 tundor. transmis~sion l~ineso reresented a minimum estimate of nimbers k-iied; this wa because of Many.fcos Ini thrcee years only oneý sattpling wa codctdin. ApiMay_, an d September 1 which mdade It unli*kely that sampLing- was conducted after a peak night migra-tion; Samping sh6ld4ddn ore ofteno e.specil11y, durini peak migration, to obtain a begtte estie ef of`the kill. si

%;alks will be conducted in 1978 (one/week). fT-pm mid-April until ed of theay. Aothr problbem was -that--irds may:

stti-ke;wIrea and flutr dow usd the seachara This problem was. miniized. i some. areas by. t1h* open nature of theo ground,. which peXrmitted Obsevr to see several me6tero'beyond4 te~i- ines of. wal)*, *Additionally* cripp*ed 'bids may move *

  • ofit of the search area and influec the colt Ac cuacy.

The pre.en of m neighb-rhood dogs an4d cats,, as well asý wild: predators,: tht could pick. iu dead and crippled birds:

and carry them out of the search areas may also. haVe cbnt'ri-

.utd toward a. lower estimiate of the. kill The impact on the -kill estimate. due, to pred-atbOr eating4 or removing carcasses was no.t a grteat as anticipated. However, this 4ind=ing is based on a, limited samp1e size of seven. We did note many instances where b.rds had been"eatem, but there were enough feathers or other. parts oft the bird left behind to not only determine that a bird had been killed but also 3.1-8 nhiii~I[~E

the species. involved. A better estimate of the tprance.

of predator removal may be obtained durinig the siix walks to, e qconducted ouring, Apr'it and 144Y of- Z978.

Other resiear"ches have, noted, transmission line bird mortality in their areas. A Vorth Dakota stady (MCea and Allard.:

1976) reported .244 de.d birds representing 18 species on. i-.

days- sampled betweesn May 31 and, August 24.1 These birds were killed *y strikitqg tzan6smi* '*ohz lines ppedc4xto the crossing between two lakes. The four species which made up about 80 percent of the total, kiill t to beh oi-flying spe-iese  :.

Astudy3 prepard fori' th~ Pacific Oas and El~ectric oman 7

!Are 190). in C'al ifrnia seee to ntraict reAta foun in. the Prajirie Island and. orth Dakota stdies.. Aren. (1970) sttd: ý!Eectric pertransmis' io Ine uountd on stel toWers cause very mihdt. avian loss, and theair adverse ecologi-cal impact on avian populations is..-..negligible.. the trans-Iliission lines he reifei.~ to Are ths htcarr oVdi 60, Ky I feel his study had a major drawback because m of te*

  • f*r-laion was based on written inquiries fro various individuals and agenci*s and'. pertained to odcasiobes where:

largeý nmb*e'rs of birds were killed. The report did not deal with comprehensive studies; but instead was based chiefly on casual bserovations.. T additioni many of the*se inq.Uri es:

involved, birds that normally are fouhd in heavily vegetated areas, where even, large.nimbers of dead or injured birds might goi Islnoticed At Prairiel Tsl-an&* the simil'arityr in number.& found each year

3. I1-9

indicated tiat`thig technique is a4n adequat low-;os't mehod to o~ta-in al index of the niuwer aM'Oý composition of birds killed. by sirikinq trainsmission, linesý iz an. ar'ea.., To-oti aeterestimate of th umber of birds killed1 the; number-of walks should be inCised In addition, the ar.eas should*

be walked durig tle breeding s eason in all ttempt to determine if nestýg, birds. are. killedor if. they avoid teI* lies.

PrliinryosevaiosseejA to idicat that- many loca nesting birds are killed.

it. appearswthat the best w*'y to reduce bixd killis to locýa`e&

tanisIissIOn lies paIradllel to bird mig0ration coridors to as gr-eat a degree, as possljefej since-locatin h*te. perpendi-cular to the lineds of migrati-on results..i- anyýmorIid bein killed:,* dditiona in#fmation supporting thiqs don-tention iso- fou4nd in a ,stud yBe n giie (97 h stated: "*Wires arer patticularlyl lethal whxenty run across riers, and channels,. r pass close to sites.: holdig lae conceitrations of birds." The impact of t smission lines pepndcLar to a;.migrca-tion co .r .ri3dqr.i's furt-he e -dee by a -s"tatememt fror6 tho E~ivirOnental Assessment for a Proposed' Cross iu ofP the Mississippi River iby a: 61.

Transmiqssion Line. (Anonymous 1976). The aissessment stated:.,

Le igb *.Fredricksonf, Gaylord Memoria- Laboqrt*oty, who "is presently a study involving the

-oiidcting effects of power lines on aviV mn vementS. stated that power linfes rihinnrig acrodss te .,at iseissipI River right angles to waterfowl flight paths, coupled with the timber-parsh funnelin effectt wud cause. serious losses.

3.1-10

MN Other factors that should. be. considered .A locating trans-midsidoiv lines ate local, terran fetrs uha13 rse arieis, and bliaffs, ad te heights at which birds na.rmaly fly when passing: o~ver these- areas. At Ptairie I-land, i app.ars thatt -birds s;trkelkinjjes and ar~e killed More often where Vese-tation beio te lines is low than where it is high. Unf60t-tunately- th-is is hlard to cldocmn becus t6ox the scarity f.'

forestt habitatý in th6e study 'area*-.

3.1.6 LITERATURE :CITED.

Ah*Onyosq . 1976. 9roposed Genoa-Lnsig 161, KV Tr6ahsission Lline cross ing Thr`oug the isisappi 2.pe RivrWdif and Fish Refuge. tansing Distr1iti. TU.S.S Fish :and Wildlife Service. Environto Assessm nt..

.Avend, 'Pilp-.l7~TeEological' Impatts; of TTr a.s missoln.Linesý on the Wildli1fe -of-San Francisco bay.

RePort: tepared for P.acifi Gas and- Electrli& Complay.

Beer.,, -,., V. a9. .gilvie. 1972. In. The Swag*s. Sdcott, F. i-972itl29-l3O., 'MichaelA Josphp, LtDt. o.do

-.

(oadard, Stephe6n. V 1977. Number and Compositi*n .f birds K.illed. b-y :Stý;king Transmision Lines' trom The Prairiel, Island Nuclear Gehera.tinq Plant. 'NS. 176 Aual Report for the P.rairie Island Nuclear Generating 'Plant Vol. 2 p.2.7.5.1l-1 thr'ough 2.7.ý5.11-ý21..i McKennai. Mi., G. and G. E. Allard' 1976. Avlan m, :Mortalit from Wire Collis:ions. North Dakota OutdoWor. 395.).:i6-l8.J Steel., R.G.D.,. an. James H. Torrie. 1960 9 . .rinciples and Procedures of Sta-tistics. McGraw-Hill Book Com~pan.

3,1-11 V tv'

Table 3.1-1. Suirmaty of .Bir-ds Collected bytSpied ies; UW.der thse Trraznsmis.sionL..i nes. at the P-rairie Island vlqeag odrieratin4 :Planht ftboit 157 3-1977T..

Sp4ie 1ercent. Found T~xn~d-ove 62 16

,Staring 57-*i,.

.row*nhoea.e'da cowbir*d :23 6.0 Ri jnnetnoke d phieasarit 19.. 9 unkwS.rn umknown 18 Americ~an coot1231 Unk.own* s. o. 5t 2.-1 Easftern mneadowlark.

K lidee ' o,1.3 ..

.RAck dove: 7 .8 Raste-breasted gosbewaka 2

'Hcui eespmrrow o5 04 Mallard. 2 05 3.1-7-4.

-4~.

TablIe 3-.1-1 (Continixed)'

Number Found,

  • erce nt 2..

Q,5

_R.ed-eyrd. vireo.

Yelltot.toaot 2- 0.5 Yeglow-shaf ted fli.:k.'er 1.: 0.5 dr~eat bleherqn. 003 House: Wren 1 o0.3 I{ung.arian partridge, 1 I

1 Field. sparrow 0. 3 I

0. 3!

uren .,eron 0.3 0.3 1

Savannah sparrow 0.3 Short-billed dowitc hr 0.:3 1,.

pe.etoral sandpiper Semi--palmated sandpiper 1.

Common snipe~

0.3 Pied-billed grebe 1 0.3 Blue jay

.1 White-tbroated sparroV i 0.3

-Tree rS*rOW Bla-ck.-p .l war~bler S *-14 0.3 Hooded, merganser 0.3 Unknown duck 0.8 Song sparrOw Total 100:.8

. --....-- t.-'- 9 "abiai V ".0flGOLLECTED -UNDER TilE TRIIASHl$4I0

-".. LlN.. FYI TUlEPM.,RRIE :LIID w U.E.

Q P.LAA4T J AE F~Il7- 7 S$o6tes 4JI/2j1$752174 911:3L74. 4/1/5BZ37S91/54187 1/69/07 /57 5/1..7 / 20/.77 5/.27/fil 8/17 8ai7 /f79117Tttl

~arifng 1/6 S-p.9 W.I 4Lpý 0Q m .0' 0 3 P0n*1 at tlrd sgaro 0 :0 a01 o.0 0 00o 0 -0 tob]n o0 01 V0.0 . 02i0 . 00 00 00 0o 0 . 0 *o0 0 o Red-ct-ned b~lackbi.rd 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.

a 0 0 0 -'

bark-y*ed junco0 0 0A l1 . 0 0 0 . 0 . 0 . 0 8 0 1 Onknoin .0 0 1 ., 0 0n .. . 0 0 0 0 0 "1 arsmw-headed cowb:lrd 0 .0 0 1 , 0 0 0 0 0 0 . 0 0 0 1

.Great.blue heron 0 0 0 0' 01 0 *. 0 0 O 0 00 . 0. 0: 0 1o Mournrngdove d0 0 0 0 0 .0 0 0 0 .0 . 0. o 0 1 0 . 1 Song* sparrow 0. 0 0 :0 .0 0. 0 0 0 1 0 0 0. 0 0 0 0.

  • v~enbf d .  : 0 0:* .. 0 0 '0 0. 0 0 0 0 o I O. 1 Ar-eg. !2 0 0 Brow,64044 1 o o 0 w * - i o 4 1 o .0 D. .18 Star-1l1ng.. 3 "0 Ye~lp.e' spiro-w :1 o 0 0 0.
  • jnkrno~n. *1 0. 0 0 .0 0 0 0 0. 0 0 0 0 :0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0: .0" Lfl Rtin-necked 1 0 1 1 1 0 1 . 1 0 pheasan$t .0 0 0 0 0. .0. 7.

Sora. rail 1 1 2 0 .0 1- 0 0 2 0 0Z 0': 0 .0 3Z Ros.50.reas~ted 0 2:. -  : 0 ,0 0 0 0 Q . 0 0 .0 .0 Jo o

l 01 0, 1a 1 3 1 2 0 0 o. 00 0

.0- 00 "1 1 0* .0

,0 00 00 .0 0 0* 0.

0' 0 0 .0 :0* 0.

0: 0 :l

  • a: ,4 4. .0 ~ 3 1 0 0: 0 0 o. 0. 0:*

0- 0 a O0. 0.I :0 "0 0 0 0" 0 0["

  • a 0- 0 0 0O
  • 0! :0 :0. 0 O: 1 0 0 1 9 0 Cbme- grcAd .0 0 .0 0 .0" 0 " 0 0 0 2, -0 o. o: 0 'o. '0

Soeies 4/91174 SI23/MI -2,1374. 41124Z5 .6/23/5/175VW 5 44/15/7 /I./37S91/ 5/37 /07b/17 2/7 1B7 912/77 9h1/7 T ta atgA v2 tcoet)

House sparrow. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0- 0 0 0 :o Q 0 0- .

Wood'duck 0 0 i 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0:

House wren Q

.0

-0 0

-0 Q

0 1

0 0

0. 0 0 1

0t 0 00 0.

0 .0 0. 00 '0 0 00 iI Unknown~thrush 0 0 0 a Upnooparw0 0 0 . 0 0' 0. . 0. 0 Area, I#

Uniknowfn Sparrow I 0 0 0 a 0 0- 0 0 0 .0, 0  !.

10 0 .0. 0

  • 0 -0 1 1 0. 4 . 0 0. 0 Ov
E'asern -meadolark. ,1 0 0 .61 1 0 0 0'0 0 .0 .0. 0 0 o 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.

0 0 0 0.

Sw.am .Sparrow 0.

1. 0 0 0 0 0. 0 . ,0 Chestnut-sided 0 -. 0 0 0 0 0 warbler 0 0 0 0 0; 0- 0.!  : !0
bouming dove. 0 0 -0 ./0 0* I 7 0 o,~ý * .o:

o .o1:,:

ra Tai.. * ,

10- '1 2 02 11, 0 00 1 .0 0 0: 0 0 0' 1

.0 0 .1 0 0. o 0o ao S 0 0" 0 0 0 A O; 0.: 0. 1 "IfIakduhe I~e-wblr 0:

0 0. 0 1 0

.-*'rl.can AU I0Id. -pt " :0 0 -1 0 0 0 60 f.t 0 0 I. 0 2.

2:

00 1 1' 00'. 00 '0 *0 .0:

.0' -a. 0 a:*o

.0

0 0 0 O0 0: .0o

.-M'erlcn7rnsih abler

  • rcke~ .0. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0. 1- 0 0! . 0. 0 0o 0:

0" n-hae P ..0 .0, 0 1

,CZO4b~i 0. 0 0 0O 0o 2 ,o., , o. .0. 0. ".0 '0 Western. imadow1 ark 0 0 6 Unpijon grackle 0. 0. 0 0 0' 0*

0 ct tfirf1d .4 0 1 ' 1. 0 .0 ,0 ,.0 0; 0 0. 0' 0- .0 '1 :0 ' 0 ..0 0 0 1 A

'TUblt a.:-2 (Ccanttnuod)

,912/757 , - :41G,6 .

.. 612 .91 1 4,1 ,5/777 $/]3'/3 7 l/2 777 /27/77 8121/ 7 0/28/77 ./2/77 . Tbtal 3pec~es.4/2112 5/23174 54 9/13/74 - .19.755/23..,

.Area '

o.. vlre

.tesrt meradowlark I 1 0 0 .1 0 0 :0. 0: 1

'1 ;0,: 40 0 0 1 A 00. 00 0 . 0

0. .0 0 *0 5

'0 A0 0.

1 .0 Ao

~1. .O. J 0 0 .0 0,' :0*

o0. 1 0 0 f' 6 41b6 i . its! gý do*4 0 0 0 A, 2

..

O 0

0.. 0 0 a. .*0 Ro;onk.,ve " 0 .0;

0:: Q.0
0. 0 0 0 0 "- .00:

Rei,,aee4 .vIre 0 0 .0. 0 *0* t.

2 01 0'. 01 0. a0. .0Q 0 0 0O

.Red4iln~ged. 0 ,1 0O 0 l. O+ o *0 .I

.0. 0 .1 0M 0 0- .0,

. rkvl, e.#ed: 1.~c o a 0 O0 9 Woii~gaitk 8ru~vn-Iieadied 0 0 0. 0. o. 0

0. .0 0 :0 V0 0 O: .0 ilal t i.ore. oroloe" ' 0 0 0 *'0:

O a, ".4 o0 "1:0. .0 0 0

.0 0 0 I) :0

  • Eas.tei- meadowiark. 1 I

.0 0 0 1 SV0 .0 0 0 0 0 o .0+

wi~.nt~kid 1-j =*uar6lee 0 1 0 0 0.  !

.0+'

O pak-e/e4 Junco 9 0 *'0 2 0 d:0 .0 0 0,. .0 .0 0 .0 *0 2 0!: .0 0' 0: .0 2 d.v~a.e 0 0.

o. 1 0 0 0.+ O0 WOUIfngr 0 0 a. 0 7."

0 0.

0 .1

.01 0 0.. 0: '0' 0 9.

0."

0 0' '. 0 ~0~ -:0 '0 0 +0 l1Un9-n*4ked" 0 00 0,. 0 1. :0 0.

l heasant 0 1 a. 0 .0 0. I

  • uionk n 0 0. 0 o. *0o. 0 .1

-.Meri.cen 0 0o 1 0 0

  • 1 4/15/77 5l13177 ./201/7 y/21177./I/7.8/27-7 ./t/77, g/t0t77 Total Soe,es .4/21174 /23174M9l13/74..419/75 5/23t75- 9112/75 4/16/76 01/376, g/1076 Area 06
0. 12~ 0 U) 0 3 Wood dkck, .1 0 0o

,0 00 0: 00 :0 0 0 1.

Ovenbi rd- 0 0 0

,.0: 0 0 :0. :0 "12 "0. 0. 00q 0Q 00 0A. Q 0 o 0 Q .0- '.0. .

Ring-neOked .0  : "0 0 o .0 4 phea ant, 1 '0 1"" 0 .0. 0 0. 1 2:

"460Mn~fg.46vt a. *0 0 *0 1 oI 0-' 0* 0 3 0* 0 Unknown` . 0. 0, 2 0 0 0- 0. 0. I tljnknowin warber 0' 'o o .0- 0 0 0 t'0 0o ".0 '0 .,0.:* ."

Hooded mer~ganser .0 0l

0. o 0 0 0 D' Meinrcan'coot 0 0- '0 ,0 0 o 0 0 0 -1 0 A

.0-

-Wood duck* 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 ) :0 0. 0. 0 0 0 Q, 0' 1 14 0 0 0 a 0 '1 0... * :0. 0. 00 0:

uinknownf *0 ,0 0. *0.

0.

Unknown.w~trbl r* .0 .0 00 012 00: 0 1 1

0'

.0 0;

0 0 0 0 0 1

-0. O9 00- 00 0V 0 0 0 Svetirroi 0 0 0 o0 0, 0 0

.0: 1 ..0" o .I O- 0 0 Ciuiancoot 0 0 I

.1'buriifn 64, ve .0 0 0 0 0 0...  : .7 0

-0

.0 o 0

.0 0.0 0

  • 0 0 O. .0:. 0*:

0; ':.:

0 O 0.

Drown-headed cuwbt~r4 I 0 0 O*" O :0 *0 0". o ,0 Gretnhrn 0 0 0 0ý 0 0 0V 0 I)

.0

'0

,0 1.

0 0, Coni~oqn gjtack-le 1 00 .0 2 0 ,0 0 0 0. 0

.0;

.0 0 0 0 000 0 0 0 0 0

0 0.

r ,0" 0 "0" 0. o 2.

00 0 . .0: 0 .0 O. .0 0: *0 0 . 0 1 .0 1. 12 Rqbln -dl. 0o

.0 1*

0 0 ' '1 0 1:

  • 0" .001 0 .0.

RedWk nedbm ckI 0 .O: .p* ,0." 0. 0 r

Jill

9r)

Tkble 3.-vlio(contOnued)

~hi~r4o~ 4/21/74 51349J13/74 4/9175. 5123/7 01412175 Ahs./76, r,13n V/10/76 411017' 9/13177' C~id/l7 .27I77 .9111hY O12Ri-77 41/21'7 .4/1.01.7 'Thtaj

-Area IS

.COnu*OF geocklae 1. :0 0 0 0 -o 0 1 o. 0 0 0 :0 .0. 4 :2.

Unlowq s$Par~ro .0 0 .0 0 0 Q-O!

0 0. 0. "0 .0

.0 0 o0 0 1.

MOmring doys 1 0 0 0 I0. 0 0 0o 0 .31 Ollack duk'ý 0 0 0 0 i0 0. 1. 0. 0 0 0. 1' nor~ihern oriole. 0 0 0 0 o 0' .0. . 0O 0: 0 0 :0 I Ruby-ttlroated .0 0. 0. o 0 OZ 0o Ox I hmlaingbl rd, 0 0 0 A 0 0 tNestem. meadowlark. o' O. 0 00 1 0', 0

,o!. T. .0.: -.00 -0" o o *0 T

.3tariing 0 0 0 0 -:0 "0 .0 o.

0 01 0 0.

0 0 0 0- 0 0 .. 0 "0 "0 o

  • 0 .I 0 0 0 o 0 o i0 -o! i" :0

.@ 0 0 0, 09 1 Treesprrw 0 0 0" 0* :0 1 .0 oi} 1 0 0 0 I.

O:

0 0 0*

'0 V0 0 0 2

'a .0 0 a .0 0 0  :'0.

R ~gf-nA&I.

ýGhfih . 1 0 0 0 .0 g0:. *0 :0 0. ;0; a 0. 0 0

0 0.O 0i 0

S ph~esarnt 00 0 0" 0 -0 I 00 H Unknowiasparrow, I 00 00 0O0 10 0

+0

0. 0 0 a 0 0 0 0 0: .0. +0+ 1.

0 0, 1 0 0+ 1

.0. 0.- 0 0.

0:

-0 0

  • 0 .*00. .0 1.O 0

.A A Va'rk-eyud .itiko' I.1 *0 0 0 01 :0.0 0 1 0o 0o: 1 I

111o.rhn1ri -06ye: 1 0 0 0 0 *0 0. 1. !2. 0
  • 0 0 0 0 0. '0" :0 $

110646-lit dea cow1rid. 1: 0: .0. O: 0 .0 0 1 0 1 0 0 1, 00 00 00 0 .0"

0. 0=. ,0: :O* 0 0. 1 101 0 1 .0 0 .0
  • 0: *0 0" .* *0 0 0 0 1 0 0 j1
UnkhibOlWarb~er .0 0. 1 0 0:. :0 0. 0-*: .0 12 0' 0. -.0 0 "0 0O
  • 116Wker ed 0' .0. 0" 0 0- 0 -0 0. . 0 0 .0 D.

dowftcher 0 . 00- 1z- 0. .0 Robin0 .0

" 1, 0- 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 o0 o0o 0, 04 0 0 0 0 0 ý.

I

.7 T4ble: .1.-24(9ont5nued}

g...ec les - . 4121 :174 5,/23174 9)1 1374 4/19/75 512.3/75 911 /715 .4/ .16176-.,613/76 :911197 5 .,4/ :15fl77o 5/ 3177

, 5 '/Z0 t77 . ,f27/77. , 8/2 ,1/,17 8/ z'8177 9/1/. *775 14o177 . :Tot al K:I.deer 0 T

.0t . 01 I aI a , :2.:

, 0 1 0 - . 0 0 . . . 0 0. 1 9hitt-.t*hrpated: 0 .o 0 0 0: .1  :.

.Uk :sParrowr 0.

0 0 0.: 0. 0, 1 0 0 0. 0 0 "0 ).0

.0 I.

UnknOwn 0 0 :0 0 4 0 *0 2.:

Pectoral.: sandpfper 00 0 0 0 ,0: !0 1. 0.  :-Q1 9 '0. A,

  • Sbeh a/iai. . O *0 -0 1., 0 .0 0.

0 . 0 0 Sowri-pa-Iatad 0 .0 .0 0 0 d ,0 1 I W*6d: duck. 0 O: o 0 0 2 0 5 0 1 Ring-necked 1 1 0" 0 0 0 0.D '0 0 0 0. 1 . 0

.pheasant]

K~lildeer " 0 0*:O . 0:0:0 0  !:0 0 0 :0 0 0.- 0 0 0 2 1 0. 0 0 0 .0" krawh-feaded cowbird 0 0 0 5

.0-

-w SOO'rAil f , 0 1: 0O." 2 0 110 6.

0 01 ' 0 0 01 11 0:, 0

.0 0.

f 10Ou fng dove .0 J0 0 .0 0 9 0 0 0 0 .0- 0 1 14a OCinmon. gracjklq 0. 1 0 0 0 0 .0, 0 2

. lackpofl" rb.er 0. .1 O 0 0 0 0 0 " 0 '0" 0: 0 0" le-ned Fe) 4001k190 1 1 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 :0 0 0' 5 0 0 0 0 .0 :0, 6 06 o0 00 0 .2 1 0 "1 0 :0

0 0 Aorlcan coot 0!
  • 0:  : 0 0 0. 0a1 a 00 0 :3 0 0 0 0 ýr 0. 0 0 .2 Vespe sparrOw 0 0A 1 0 .0 Roek dove A 0 0 1. 0 0 0 . .0. 0:: '0" a 0
0 2 0 .0 2 0 0. 0
0

-0 ~0 a 0 0 1 Starling Robin 0. 0 O 0, 0 0: 0 .0, 0

  • 0 .0 1: '0 0 0" ."1 Unknown warbler, :0 0 0 1. 0. 0 0 0'

.0 Q

0 j0 V A Cecs4on snipe 0 0 .0 .0 0 0 1 0 0 1. 0 0 Pied-billed grebe. :0. *0: 0 0 0 0 1 0 0:. 0., .0 0.

0'. 2, 0 0 1 0 .0 .1 0 0a 0 0 0vrnbar .0! '0" Ralliedncl .o-.. o.

.'0.

0.Oe '1 00 00 0. 00 0o0 0 0

0. 0 ,0: .o o 0 0.. 0 0 0 0 0 0 :0. 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 *0 Starling -0 .0 ' 0 0 0 0a 1 I

Wel~low-thhrot :0 0 *0 a 1 0 0. 0 wab~bler" .1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .0, 0 Pnrlc'oat 0 0 :0' 0. 0. a 0 0 1 1a.i rd. 0 ..0 0 0 0 0l 0 0.

a. 0 0 0

',dOve.

RoCklw-l.OSaf*ted .0 00 00 00 00 : 00 00 .00 .:0 0 :Vý:

Ye 0 0:

.licker 0. 0 0 0 .0. 0 0 I 0

.0 o o 0 1

.luay. 0a 0 00. ..1 .00 0 0 0 0 1

  • -wiq*e§44, b.acib rd 0 0 0 0 0 0. 0 0 0 .0 0 0. 0 0" .. 0 Q 0 at . . ... 0

-J7

Table 3M1-3. Analiys.is of Variance for bi'rdst found dead or Injured under the t':rans,ýi Sstikbh lilnes.

Sou rcqe" of Sum of Degrees of .ean. Ca ul'ated

ar. a. ......,Square.

. f e m Squares F-vuaalu s Areras o .419..03 lDateý i7,54833 14 2I853 Area~s. X Dates 77.83 1-54 ,161i8 (Error)

Total. 1567.750 17'-:

T1abul'ar F val ues F11 l5( 0~j= 'l.i F14 15( 05) 9.9 3.1-21

9>

'Table 3.1-4

SUMMARY

OF THE CH.I-SQUARE, ANALYSIS Areas .Are*aS Areas Areas.: :Areas :eaS

+i-=ia 2Z-1.] 3~-.1 0 4-9ý 0 fl F 0' E 0. E :TotalI SDre)AIes .F.

Mourtning dove . .

'IJ.... " :2.,L .+..... .,2i _..:2i.L.:8: : ' ,....+.! .s . 9. ._..8 6.*.+ , ,+8,

.*4. L.:l7.,.-..~ .... -

'3..s .

S~taring 2.3. 23 24.774' ' 19 6.0 6 .6.2 2 3.3 54.4 "57 Red -w:inged blackbitrd 2 .3 113.4 5 8.7T '3 3.4: 2.4

z. 8 31 Gr0a,1e r6 dk o L 10 IQ0 106.8 6,.,4 2.6 19A 24 w Brown-headed coWbi rd& A' T .9 0 101. 0 10 6.5 .. 21.5 1..8- 0213
0. 3 H

RAing-nqecked pheas-ant 0.8 112 :82 2 5'..4 2 2. 1 1.5 2 1.. 19 Sorag rail .l0I.7 4. _._ 5 4.8 0 1. 0 1.3 1. 14.0J 17 American cot. 2 0-,5 "'

I ,2 4.. 3.4* '0 1.3 '0.9 2' 0.7 -12 Total 100.0o 106 106.2 69 -6,9. 27 2.8 1:9: 90 14 14.1 2.45

10. 116. t. 8.57 11 w59 58.1 Cal cula'ted X .9-,:6 A8,.4 9.-67
  • +Observed
    • Expected Tabul*ar .X 2 *.80 35 (,5

)

PRAIRIE ISLAND NUCLEAR GENERATING PLANT ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING PROGRAM 1978 ANNUAL REPORT ECOLOGICAL STUDIES SPECIAL STUDIES k

1'~-~*

NUMBER AND COMPOSITION OF BIRDS KILLED BY STRIKING TRANSMISSION LINES FROM THE PRAIRIE ISLAND NUCLEAR GENERATING PLANT

-(3.1)

Prepared for Northern States Power Company Minneapolis, Minnesota by Stephen V. Goddard

.Biology Department University of Wisconsin River Falls, Wisconsin 3.1-1

%

3.1 BIRDS KILLED BY STRIKING ELECTRICAL TRANSMISSION LINES.

3.

1.1 INTRODUCTION

This is a final report on. a five-year study on bird -mor,-

tality caused by birds hitting the transmission lines from the Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant. The study.-was initiated in 1974 and continued through May 1978. The objectiv~es of this study Were to:

-1.. Obtain an index of the composition and magnitude of birds killed by striking the lines. at di-ff~er-ent times of the year

2. Determine whether there was a relationship between the -species and number of birds. killed and the different study transects,

.3. Ascertain whether there was relationship between the number of birds, killed and the orientation of the transmission lines to the Mississippi River

4. Obtain-an estimateof the number of birds striking the transmission lines which were subsequently, removed by predators.

3.

1.2 DESCRIPTION

OF .THE STUDY AREA The study area has been described in a previous report (Goddard 1977.

3.1.3 -METHOD OF PROCEDURE The method of procedure was similar to that described in earlier reports (Goddard 1977 and 1978). During 1978, walks 3.1-3

-A were again conducted on a weekly basis from April 22 to May 27. All fresh kills were marked with a pole topped by a yellow plastic flag which was located approximately 3-4 meters to the right of a dead bird. Subsequent observations were made to determine whether the bird had been eaten or removed by predators. Observations were recorded whether feathers or any other evidence remained if the bird was removed by a predator. The location and species were recorded for all the kills observed. A chi-square analysis (Steel and Torrie 1960) was conducted to determine if there was a dependent relationship between species killed and the transect in which the kill was-observed.

3.1.4 RESULTS During. 1978 there were 68 birds representing 20 species found during the six walks. For the five years of the study, there were 453 birds representing 53 species and five unknowns found. The species, number, and percentage com-position of the sample is shown in Table 3.1-1.

Eight species made up approximately 63 percent of the sample. These species. were mourning dove (16.1 percent),

starling (15.7 percent), red-winged blackbird (7.3 percent),

common grackle (7.3 percent), brown-headed cowbird (5.7 percent), ring-necked pheasant (4.4 percent), American coot (3.7 percent), and sora rail (2.4 percent). Twenty-three species were represented by a single kill.

There was a statistically significant difference in the number of birds found dead by date and transect. About 64 percent of the dead birds were found in only four transects (Table 3.1-2). These were Transect 2 (20.8 percent),

Transect 10 (15.5 percent), and Transects 3 and 11 (14.0 percent each). These four transects are all located per-pendicular to the Mississippi River. Transects 6 and 7 were 3.1-4

located more or less perpendicular to the Vermillion River.

However, only 7.3 percent .of the dead birds were found in these two transects. The other six transects accounted for:-

the remaining 28.4 percent of the sample.

During the last part of the study, 26 of the fresh kills were marked. On subsequent walks, 12..were still present as were feathers from three others. No trace remained of the other 11. Approximately 42 percent of the dead birds disappeared without a trace.

3.1.5 DISCUSSION. AND CONCLUSIONS The 53 species of dead birds recorded indicated that a wide variety of birds migrating through or living in the study area are killed by striking the transmission lines. How-ever, the transmission lines result in a greater number of deaths in only a few species. This is indicated by the fact that 23 species were represented by a single kill.

The large number of mourning doves killed was undoubtedly attributable to their nesting in the. area. Most mourning doves nested in a conifer plantation about 100 meters north of Areas 2 and 11 and about 200 meters northeast of Areas 3 and 10.

The relatively large number of starlings killed was probably because they are early migrants,and because they passed through the study area in large numbers during periods of inclement weather. The same reasons were probably true for grackles and red-winged blackbirds, but they were not killed in such great numbers. The low kill of grackles is also unusual,because they nested in the highest num-bers of any species in the study area. In addition, many

. grackles nested in the same stand of conifers as the mourning doves.

0 3.1-5

-...

The large number of ring-necked pheasants was not expected, since. it was felt that few of them would fly high enough to strike the transmission lines. It is possible that some of them may have been killed by predators using the transmis-sion towers as perches. The kills may have been simply a function of density, since 60 percent of the kills were found in Transects 2 and 11, which passed through some of the best pheasant habitat at Prairie Island.

The number of coots and sora rails killed was probably because they are nocturnal migrants, and most of them were found following a period when it rained at night, and there was a low ceiling that caused migrating birds to fly lower.

Since six of the eight species killed in the highest numbers nested in from high to very high numbers in the study area, it seems apparent that many nesting birds were killed. In many cases, the loss of a nesting parent would also result in a loss of its young.

The significant difference between the number of birds killed by date is not surprising, when considering the duration and tremendous variation in weather that occurred

  • during the study. The largest kills were recorded when it had been raining, and/or there was a low ceiling on the b:,

nights preceding the walks. Few birds were found when the previous nights had been clear and mild.

Generally, larger numbers of dead birds were found in spring; this was because of several factors. First, the weather fluctuated to a greater degree. Second, the vegeta-tion was just starting to grow and was not as dense as it would be later in the fall. Third, more counts were con-ducted in the spring, which increased the possibility- of a walk taking place after a night when a large number of birds had been killed. Fourth, the fall walks were conducted 3.1-6

early in the migration period when the weather was more conducive to nocturnal migration. The clear nights would result in nocturnal migrants flying higher, thus passing over the transmission lines.

The significant difference.. between the number of birds killed in the four transects was due& to the orientation of the transmission lines perpendicular to the migration corridor along the Mississippi River. There was an average of 16 percent of birds killed in each of these four tran-sects. This was contrasted with an average of' only 4.5 percent of the birds killed for each of the remaining eight

  • transects.

However, low numbers of dead birdsi an average of 3.7.

percent,- were recorded for two transects, which were ori-ented at an angle of about 50 degrees in relation to. the Vermillion River. There are several possible explanations for this phenomenon. The length of the lines was the shortest because they crossed over the river. These were the only transects that ran through a forest area. For much' of their length, the lines were at or below the tops of the trees. It is certainly possible that the trees caused birds to fly higher and thus avoid the lines. This would even be true when there was a low cloud ceiling. Birds moving through the tree tops would be flying slower and could more easily avoid the lines or even pass under the lines. In addition, there was an accumulated leaf litter and a heavy undergrowth which made it more difficult to locate dead birds.

The number of birds found was certainly a minimum estimate of the, kill and would best be used as an index of the impact of the lines. Obviously there were dead birds that were not located. This number was probably not as great as would be true in other habitats because of the open nature of the 3.1-7

terrain and lack of dense vegetation on most of the ground under the transmission lines. The marked bird study indi-cated that about 42 -percent of the birds were removed by predators. This figure does not include birds that were removed by predators before the transects were walked and birds were marked, The 42 percent may not be representative because of the-small samples size (26) of marked birds. It is also possible that some birds could hit the -wires and flutter away only to-die later from their injuries. Based on these considerations, it would be safe to state' that the, actual number of birds killed is, at a minimum, double the number actually found.

Other studies have indicated that bird mortality results from striking transmission lines. A North Dakota study (McKenna and Allard 1976) reported finding 244 dead birds representing 18 species on. 11 sample days between May 31 and August 24. These birds were killed by striking transmission lines perpendicular to a crossing between two lakes. The four species which made up approximately 80 percent of the kill-were all low flying species.

In a Califopa-sy prepared for Pacific Gas and Electric*

Company, rend (1970) ted:

"Electric power trans ission lines mounted on steel-towers cause very mi or avian loss, and their adverse ecological impa t on avian populations is.

negligible."

The transmission lines referred t ar ne that carry over 60 kv. A major shortcoming o this stud is that much of the information was based on written inquiries to indivi-duals and agencies and pertained. to instances where large numbers of birds were killed. The report did not deal with comprehensive studies, but instead was based more on casual 3.1-8

  • observations. In addition, many of the inquiries involved species that normally are found in heavily vegetated areas, where even large numbers of dead or injured birds could not easily be located.

The similarity in the number of dead birds found from year to year in the Prairie Island study area indicated that this.

technique is an accurate, low-cost method of obtaining an index of the number and composition of birds killed by striking transmission lines in that location.. The st.udy, also provides base line data that can be used for comparison purposes 'if future studies are deemed necessary. However, I see no reason for the continuation of this study at the present time.

The study indicates that the best way to reduce birds kills resulting from striking transmission lines is to orient the lines parallel to bird migration corridors wherever possible. Locating transmission lines perpendicular to migration corridors will result in many more birds being killed. In a 1972 study Beer and Ogilvie stated:

"Wires are particularly lethal when they run across rivers and channels, or pass close to sites holding large concentrations of birds."

The impact of transmission lines perpendicular to a migra-tion corridor is further evidenced by a statement from the Environmental Assessment for a Proposed Crossing of the Mississippi River by a 161 kv Transmission Line. The assessment stated:

Leigh H. Fredrickson, Gaylord Memorial Laboratory, who is presently conducting a study involving the effects of power lines on avian movements, stated that power lines running across the Mississippi 3.1-9.

River at right angles to waterfowl flight paths,-

coupledwith. the timber-marsh funneling effect, would cause serious losses.

Other factors that should be considered in locating trans-mission lines are local terrain features such as forested areas and bluffs (which may make the lines more difficult to see) and the- heights at which birds normally fly when passing over these areas. At Prairie Island it appears that birds strike the lines and are killed more often where vegetation below the- lines is low than where it is high.

Unfortunately, this: was difficult to demonstrate because of the scarcity of forest habitat. Bird losses can be reduced in this situation by locating transmission lines so they are below the tops of trees whenever possible. The birds would then fly higher than the trees, or at least "flare up" to clear the trees and thus miss the wires.

3.1-10

3.1.6 LITERATURE CITED Anonymous. 1976. Proposed Genoa-Lansing 161 KV Transmis-sion Line Crossing Through the Upper Mississippi River Wildlife and Fish Refuge. Lansing District. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Environmental Assessment.

Arend, Phillip H. 1970. The Ecological Impacts of Trans-mission Lines on the Wildlife of San Francisco Bay.

Report prepared for Pacific Gas and Electric Company.

Beer, J. V. and M. A. Ogilvie. 1972. In The Swans: Scott, 1972: pp. 129-130. Michael Joseph, LTD. London.

Goddard, Stephen V. 1977. Number and Composition Killed by Striking Transmission Lines from the of Birds Prairie

~Island Nuclear Generating Plant. NSP 1976 Annual Report /

~~for the Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant Vol. 2 /

pp. 2.7.5.1-1 through 2.7.5.1-21.

McKenna, M. G. and G. E. Allard. 1976. Avian Mortality from Wire Collisions. North Dakota Outdoors. 39(5):

pp. 16-18.

Steel, R. G. D. and James H. Torrie. 1960. Principles and Procedures of Statistics. McGraw-Hill Book Company.

Winer, B. J. 19,62. Statistical Principles in Experimental Design. McGraw-Hill Book Company.

3.1-11

Table 3.1-1 Summary of birds collected by species under the transmission lines from the Prairie Island Nuclear

......

Generating Plant Number Species Found Percent Mourning dove 73 16.1 Starling 71 15.7 Red-winged blackbird 33 7.3 Common grackle 33 7.3 Brown-headed cowbird 26 5.7 Unknown unknown 21 4.6 Ring-necked pheasant 20 4.4 American coot 17 3.7 Sora rail 11 2.4 Robin 10 2.2 Vesper sparrow 9 2.0 Wood duck 8 1.8 Dark-eyed junco 8 1.8 Unknown sparrow 8 1.8

. Western meadowlark 7 1.5 American goldfinch 7 1.5 Unknown warbler 6 1.3 Unknown thrush 5 1.1 Ovenbird 5 1.1 Eastern meadowlark 4 0.8 Killdeer 4 0.8 Catbird 3 0.7 Mallard 3 0.7 Rock dove 3 0.7

......... House wren 3 0.7 Common snipe 3 0.7 Northern oriole 3 0.7 Rose-breasted grosbeak 2 0.4 House sparrow 2 0.4 Black duck 2 0.4 3.1-1.3

Table 3.1-I (Continued)

Number Species Found Percent Red-eyed vireo 2 0.4 Yellowthroat 2 0.4 Tree swallow 2 0.4 Savannah sparrow 2 0.4 Great blue heron 1 0.2 Hungarian partridge 1 0.2 Swamp sparrow 1 0.2 Chestnut-sided warbler 1 0.2 Tennessee warbler 1 0.2 Field sparrow 1 0.2 Ruddy duck 1 0.2 Green heron 1 0.2 Ruby-throated hummingbird 1 0.2 Yellow-shafted flicker 2 0.4 Short-billed dowitcher 1 0.2 Pectorai sandpiper 1 0.2 Spotted sandpiper 1 0.2 Semi-palmated sandpiper :1 0.2 Pied-billed grebe 1- 0.2 Blue jay 1 0.2 White-throated sparrow 1 0.2 Tree sparrow 1 0.2 Blackpoll warbler 1 0.2 Hooded merganser 1 0.2 Unknown duck 1 0.2 Rusty blackbird 1 0.2 Song sparrow 1 0.2 Virginia rail 0.2 Total 443 96.9 3.1-14

~

........................................ .

Prairie Island Table 3.1-2 Summary of the birds collected under the transmission lines from the Nuclear GenerAting Plant by date from 1974-1978 Transect No 1 SPECIES Brown-hd. Great blue Mourning Song Amer.

Unknown Red-winged Dark-eyed Unknown cowbird heron dove sparrow Ovenbird coot Date Starling sparrow Catbird Robin blackbird junco 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4/21/74 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 5/23/74 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9/13/74 1 0 0 0 0 1 I 1 0 0 0 0 0 4/19/75 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 5/23/75 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9/12/75 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4/16/76 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6/3/76 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 9/10/76 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 4/15/77 0 0 0 0 0 0 W 0 0 0 0. 0 0 0 5/13/77 0 0 0 0 0 I- 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5/20/77 0 0 0 0 0 Lin 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5/27/77 0. 0 0 1 0 0 0 0- 0 0 0 8/21/77 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 8/28/77 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9/2/77 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9/10/77 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0. 0 4/22/78 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4/29/78 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5/6/78 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5/13/78 00 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 *0 0 0 0 0 0 5/20/78 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0' 0 5/27/78 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 1 1 4 1 1 Total

Table 3.1-2 (Continued)

Transect go. 2 SPECIES Vesper Ring-nk. Sora Rose-brst. Mourning Amer. American Red-winged Brown-hd. coot goldfinch blackbird Unknown pheasant rail grosbeak dove Date cowbird Starling sparrow 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 4/21/74 3 1 0 2 0 0 0 5/23/74 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 o 0 9/13/74 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 4 4/19/75 0 2 0 3 1 0 0 1 0 0 4 5/23/75 0 1 0 0 -.o 0 1 0 0 9/12/75 0 0 0 0 0 1

1 0 0 0 o 3 4/16/76 4 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 1 6/3/76 1 0 1 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 9/10/76 1 0 2 0 0 1

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4/15/77 0 1 0 0 2 0 0O 0 0 0 0 0 5/13/77 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 w 5/20/77 0 4 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 ,

I-.. 0 0 0 0 0 5/27/77. 0 0 0 0 I-. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 8/21/77 00 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8/28/77 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9/2/77 0 0 1 0 .0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9/10/77 0 0 0 0 0 0 00 0 0 0 0 4/22/78 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4/29/78 0 o* 0 0 0 0 0 5/6/78 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 .0 0 5/13/78 0 0 0 0 0 o. 0, 0 0 0 0 0 0 5/20/78 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5/27/78 6 8 .7 2 14 1 1 12 Total 5 17 3

. ., .1;.

- .

__________

.,.-

~..

~

...-~

...

. ..........

Table 3.1-2 (Cont inued )

Transect No. 2 SP.ECIES House Wood House Unknown Unknown Baltimore common Slate-col. common sparrow duck wren thrush sparrow oriole grackle junco Mallard snipe Date -

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

.4/21/74 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.

5/23/74 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9/13/74 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4/19/75 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5/23/75 0 0 0.

0 0 0 0 0 9/12/75 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4/16/76 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0*

6/3/76 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0. 0 0 9/10/76 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 4/15/77 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5/13/77 1 0 0 0O 0 0 0 0 0 5/20/77 0 0 0 I-J 0 0 0 0 0 0 5/27/77 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8/21/77 0 00 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8/28/77 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 00 9/2/77 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9/10/77 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 4/22/78 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4/29/78 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 5/6/78-- 0 0

0. "0 0' 0 0 0 0 0, 0 5/13/78 0 0 0 0 .0 0 0 0 0 5/20/78 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5/27/78 0 1 11211 2 1 Total1 Toal17 2 1

Table 3.1-2 (Continued)

Transect

'No. 3 SPECIES Chestnut-sd. Mourning Black Sora American unknown Eastern Hungarian Swamp warbler dove duck rail coot Unknown Date sparrow Starling meadowlark partridge sparrow 0 0 0 0 0 4/21/74 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 5/23/74 0 0 0 0 1 o*

0 .2 0 2 0 9/13/74 0 0. 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 4/19/75 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5/23/75 0 104 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9/12/75 0 0 0 0 0" .0 1 0 0 1 4/16/76 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 i 0 0 0 0 0 6/3/76 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9/10/76 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4/15/77 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 5/13/77- 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 00 wu CD 5/20/77 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5/27/77 0 1 0 0 0 .> 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 *0 8/21/77 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 8/28/77 0 0 0 0 "

0 0 0 0 9/2/77 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9/10/77, 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

i 0 0 0 2 4/22/78 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 4/29/78 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5/6/78 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0* 1 5/13/78 0 0 0 0 0 0 0O 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 5/20/78 0 0 0 0

.0 0 0 0 1 0 5/27/78 0 1

4 2 .3 12 1 1 I 12 Total 1

_____

. S.-.~

. .

..

5I S ~

-- a Table 3.1-2 (Continued)

Transect No. 3 SPECIES Brown-hd. Western Common Field Spotted Red-wing. Tree American Tennessee meadowlark grackle Catbird sparrow sandpiper blackbird swallow Date goldfinch warbler Ovenbird cowbird 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4/21/74 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5/23/74 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9/13/74 *0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4/19/75 I 0 0 0 00 0 0 0 0 0 5/23/75 0 0 0 0 0*

0 0 0 0 0 0 9/12/75 0 1 1 0 1 5 1 1 0 0 0 4/16/76 1 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 6/3/76 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9/10/76 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

(.3 4/15/77 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 I-.

5/13/77 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 .0 0 I-. 5/20/77 0 0 0 0

~0 0 0 .0 0 0 0 0 5/27/77 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0. 0 0 8/21/77 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8/28/77 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9/2/77 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.

9/10/77 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 4/22/78 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4/29/78 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 5/6/78 0 0 0* 0 0 0" 0 .0 0 0 0 5/13/78 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5/20/78 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 5/27/78 0 0 0 0 3 7 1 1 1 2 1 Total 2 1

0-)

Table 3.1-2 (Continued)

Transect No. 4 SPECIES Red-wg. Brown- Balt-Mourn- Red-Western black- Ring-nk. headed imore American common ing Rock eyed meadow- Unknown Ruddy Unknown bird pheasant cowbird oriole goldfinch duck Starling grackle dove dove vireo Date lark sparrow 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 4/21/74 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 1 1 1 0 0 5/23/74 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.

0 0 0 0 0 0 9/13/74 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 d 2 1 0 0 D 0 4/19/75 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0

5/23/75 0 0 0. 0 0 0 0O 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

9/12/75 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 4/16/76 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0* 0 0 6/3/76 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 9/10/76 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4/15/77 0 0 0 0 0. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5/13/77 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 ~0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5/20/77 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .0 0 0 5/27/77 0' 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8/21/77 .0 0 0 .0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8/28/77 0 0 0 0 00 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9/2/77 0 00 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9/10/77 0 00 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 i 4/22/78 0 0 01 0 0 0

0 1 0 0' 0 0 0 4/29/*78 0 0 0 0 0 .0 0 .0" 0 0 0' 0 0 0 0 0 0

5/6/78 1 0 0* 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5/13/78 0 0 o 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 "0 0 5/20/78 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5/27/78 3 2 2 1 1 1

.1 6 6 7 1 1 Total 5 2

. . - .* * . : "; * : : * * !* " * '1 * * ;

  • i; * *  ; .' -'* 7 :: : ; ' ':: .' '
  • * .. " L .. .. . . *-. . ' . * . . - . . , ...* *.. . . - '. . . ... .*
  • , - . . . * .. ... * . .. . . . "

Table 3.1-2 (Continued)

Transect No. 5 SPECIES Common Red-winged Ring-nk. American Eastern Yellow-th.Dark-eyed Mourning blackbird pheasant Unknown goldfinch dove. Starling Robin grackle Date meadowlark warbler junco 0 0 0 0 0 0 4/21/74 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0. 0 0 0 0 0 0 5/23/74 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 9/13/74 1 1 0 0 0 1 2 1 1 4/19/75 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5/23/75- 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 9/12/75 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4/16/76 0 0 1 0 0 0 0* 0 0 0 6/3/76 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0. .0 9/10/76 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 4/15/77 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5/13/77 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 I-.

5/20/77 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5/27/77 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8/21/77 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8/28/77 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9/2/77 0 0 0 0 0 .0 0 0 0 0 9/10/77 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0o 0 00 0 4/22/78 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4/29/78 0 0 a1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5/6/78 0 0 0 0.

0 0 0 0 "0

0. 0 0 0.

5/13/78 .0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5/20/78 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5/27/78

-1 2 2 I 2 1 2 2 Total

'ii Table 3.1-2 (continued)

Transect No. 6 SPECIES Unknown Hooded American House Wood Red-eyed Ring-necked Rourning coot Starling wren vireo pheasant -dove Unknown warbler merganser Date duck ovenbird 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4/21/74 1 0 0 5/23/74 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 D 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 a 0 9/13/74 a 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 2 0 0 4/19/75 0 o 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .0 0 5/23/75 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 9/12/75 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4/16/76 1 0 0 0 0 6/3/76 0 0 0 0 I 0 0 0 0 0 0 9/10/76 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 12 4/15/77 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 01 0 10 0 0

5/13/77 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Kg 5/20/77 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .0 0

I~ 5/27/77 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0- 0 8/21/77 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8/28/77 0 0 0. 0 0 0 0 0 0 9/2/77 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9/10/77 0 0. D0.

0 1 0 0 0 0 0 4/22/78 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 00 0" 4/29/78 00 0 0 1 0 0 1 02 0 ,0 0 5/6/78 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 *0 o 0.

5/1:3/78 0 "0 "

0 0 0 0 0 5/20/78 0 0 .0 0 1 0

5/27/78 2 1 1 1 1 3 4 2 Total

Table 3.1-2 *(Continued)

  • Transect No. 7 SPECIES SPECIES American Mourning Brown-headed Wood Unknown Sora coot dove Starling cowbird duck Unknown warbler rail Ovenbird Date 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4/21/74 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5/23/74 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 9/13/74 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4/19/75 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .0 0 5/23/75 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9/12/75 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4/16/76 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 6/3/76 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9/10/76 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4/15/77 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 5/13/77 1 0 0 0 5/20/77 0 0 0 0 0 LI 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 5/27/77 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8/21/77 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8/28/77 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9/2/77 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 9/10/77 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4/22/78 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4/29/78 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5/6/78 0 0 0 "

0 0 0 0 S 0 5/13/78 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0.

5/20/78 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5/27/78 0 1 1411 4 1 1 Toal1 1 Total

Table 3.1-2 (Continued)

Transect No. 8 SPECIES Vesper Wood Mourning Red-winged Brown-headed Green Common Robin spoarrow Unknown cowbird heron grackle Starling duck -dove blackbird Date 0 0 0 0 0 I 1 1 0 0 4/21/74 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 b .0 0 5/23/74. 0 0 0 0 o 6 0 0 0 "0 9/13/74 2 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 4/19/75 0 0 0 o 0 0 0 0 0 5/23/75 0 0 0 0 00 0 0 0 9/12/75 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0

.4/16/76 0 0 0 0 i o 0 1 0 0 0 6/3/76 0 0. 0 0 o 0 0 0o 0 0 9/10/76 0 0 0 1 o 0 1 0 0 4/15/77 0 0 0 w 0 0 0 40 0 5/13/77 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5-I 5/20/77 o 0 0

0. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5/27/77 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

8/21/77 0 0 0.

0 0 0 0 0 0 8/28/77 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9/2/77 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9/10/77 00 0 0 0 D

0 0 0 0 0 0 4/22/78 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 00 0 0 4/29/78 0 0 0 0 00 0 o0 0 0 5/6/78 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0* 00 5/13/78 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5/20/78 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5/27/78 0 4 2 Total 1 1 3 2 2 1

-. .,;

,.... .... ~"-......:. - .

Table 3.1-2 (Continued)

Transect No. 9 SPECIES Red-winged Dark- Amer-Mourn- Ruby-th. Western black- Tree eyed ican Common Unknown ing Black Northern humming- meadow- Star-bird lark ling Unknown bird sparrow junco coot Date grackle sparrow dove duck oriole 0 0. 0 0 0 0 0 0 4/21/74 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5/23/74 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9/13/74 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4/19/75 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 5/23/75 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9/12/75 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4/16/76 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 6/3/76 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9/10/76 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0

'4/15/77 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5/13/77 0 0 0 0 0 0 0. 0 a 0 0 0 0 5/20/77 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5/27/77 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 a 0 8/21/77 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .0 0 0 8/28/77 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9/2/77 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9/10/77 0 0 0 0 0 0 D0 0 1 1 4/22/78 - a0 1 0 0 0 0 1.

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.

4/29/78 0 0 0 0 "0 0 0 0 0. 0 0 5/6/78 0 0 0 0 -0. 0 0 0 0 0 0 5/13/78 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5/20/78 0 0 0 0 0 0 0- 0 0 10 0 0 0

-5/27/76 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 3 1 11 2 1 Total Tt2 1 4 1 1

Table .3.1-2 (Continued)

Transect No. 10 SPECIES Ring- Dark- Brown- Red-Savannah eyed Mourning headed winged House Unknown Common necked Unknown Vesper junco dove cowbird blackbird sparro'w warbler Date grackle Starling pheasant sparrow sparrow sparrow 1 1 0i 1 1 1 0 0 4/21/74 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 0 5/23/74 0 0 -0 0 0 0 .0 0 0 0O 0 1 9/13/74 1 0 o 0 0 1 1 0 .0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 4/19/75 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5/23/75 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9/12/75 0 0 0 0

'0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4/16/76 0 0 0 *0 0 0 0 0

-6/3/76 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 9/10/76 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 0 4/15/77 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 11 1 0 0 0 5/13/77 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 I- 5/20/77 0 1 -0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5/27/77 0 10 00 0 0 00 0 1 0 0 0 1 8/21/77 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8/28/77 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 9/2/77 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9/10/77 0- 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4/22/78 *0 0 1 0 01 .0 0 0 .0 0 0 0 4/29/78 0* 0 0 .0 0 0 0 1 *0 0 0

.5/6/78 0 0 0 0~ 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 00 5/13/78 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

1 0 0 0 0 5/20/78 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5/27/76 2 1 2 9 8 5 1 2 Total 4 12 2 2

... . .2.. - A

  • t a .. -:...:,.*, *.:. .,,, -. . . :.:< .-: .

Table 3.1-2 (Continued)

Transect No. 10 SPECIES White- Semi-Yellow- Short- Wood Virginia throated Unknown Pectoral Sora palmated shafted billed American duck rail Killdeer sparrow sparrow unknown sandpiper rail sandpiper Date flicker dowitcher Robin coot 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4/21/74 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5/23/74 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 9/13/74 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 1 0 0 0 4/19/75 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0. 0 0 0 5/23/75 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9/12/75 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4/16/76 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 1 0 6/3/76 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 9/10/76 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 w 4/15/77 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5/13/77 0 0 0 0 0

!~ 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 5/20/77 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 00 5/27/77 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8/21/77 0 0 0 0 0

0. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8/28/77 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9/2/77 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9/10/77 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4/22/78 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4/29/78 0 0 0 0

.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5/6/78 0 0 0 0 .0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 5/13/78 0 0 0 1 '0 0 0 0 0 0 0 "0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5/20/78 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5/27/78 1 1 4 1 1. 1 1 1 1 14 2 Total

Table 3-1-2 (Continued)

Transect No. 11 SPECIES Sora Mourning common BlaCkpoll Red-winged American Ring-necked Brown-hd.

cowbird rail dove grackle warbler blackbird Unknown coot Date pheasant Killdeer 0 0 0 0 0 0 4/21/74 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 0-5/23/74 1 4 01 -0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 9/13/74 0 2 i 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 4/19/75 0 0 1 0 0. 0 0 0 5/23/75 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9/12/75 0 0 0 4/16/76 0 "0 0 0 16 0 0' 2 0*

0.

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6/3/76 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 9/10/76 43 0 1 0 0 0O 0 1 w 4/15/77 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

-5/13/77 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 5/20/77 0 0 1 Cu 5/27/77 0 0 a 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8/21/77 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8/28/77 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9/2/77 0 0 0 0 0

1 0 0 0 0 0 9/10/77 0 0 0 0 0

a 0 0 0 I 4/22/78 0 0 0 0 0 0 I 0 0 4/29/78 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 .0 5/6/78 0 0 0 0.

0 0 0 .Q 0 0 5/13/78 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0*

5/20/78 0 0 0 0 0 5/27/78 0 0 0 0 2 1 5 2 4 4 2 6 4 9 Total

Table 3.1-2 (Continued)

Transect No. 11 SPECIES Vesper Rock Unknown Common Pied-billed American Rusty Date sparrow dove Starling Robin warbler snipe qrebe goldfinch Mallard Ovenbird blackbird 4/21/74 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5/23/74 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9/13/74 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4/19/75 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 5/23/75 0 0 0 .0 1 0 0 0 9/12/75 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4/16/76 0 0 2 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 6/3/76 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9/10/76 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 Li 4/15/77 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0

!. 5/13/77 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5/2'0/77 0 I 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 5/27/77 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8/21/77 0 .0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8/28/77 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 9/2/77 0 0 0 0 0 0

0. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9/10/77 0 0 4/22/78 0 9 2 0 0 0 U 0 0 0 0 4/29/78 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5/6/78 0 0 1 1 "0 0 0 0- 0 0 1 5/13/78 0 0 *0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5/20/78 0 0 0 0 0 0 -0 0 0* 0 5/27/78 0 Total 2 1 10 2 1 1 1 2 ý1 1 1

0 Table 3.1-2 (Continued)

Transect N~o. 12 SPECIES Yellow- Red- Ring- Say-Yellow- Amer- Vesper annah Tree Rock shafted winged Common necked Mourning throat ican Mallard dove flicker Blue jayblackbird Catbird snie pheasant ,dove sparrow sparrow swallow Date Starling warbler coot 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4/21/74 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5/23/74 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9/13/74 0 0 0 0 0 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4/19/75 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 a 0 0 5/23/75 .0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9/12/75 0o .0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4/16/76 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6/3/76 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 01 0 0 0 0 0 0 9/10/76 0 1 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 i 0 0 0 4/15/77 0 0 0 0 0 0-w 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5/13/77 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5/20/77 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 .0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5/27/77 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 00 8/21/77 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 00 0 8/28/77 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9/2/77 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9/10/77 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .0 0 0 0 0 4/22/78 0* 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 U 40 1 1 1 4/29/78 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .0 a 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0~

5/6/78 0 0 0 0 0 a 0 0 o~ 0 0 0 5/13/78 0 0 0 3. 0 0 0 0 00 0 0 0 1 5/20/78 0 .0 0 -o 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 O. 0 0 5/27/7.8 1 1. 1 1 1 I1 2 1 2 1 1 .1 1 1 1 Total

  • ~. .*.~ ~ ~.................

g gceignery m NORTHERN STATES POWER ArDEl T19 2NG April. 19, 2002 Northem States Power Company - Minnesota

MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING Parties: Northern States Power Company (a Minnesota Corporation), doing business as Xcel Energy, Inc.

United States Fish And Wildlife Service, Region 3 Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, North Dakota State Game and Fish Department, South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks Department Date: 04/19/2002

1. Statement of Purpose The purpose of this Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is to establish procedures and policies to be employed by the undersigned Company, the Service, and the State in dealing with migratory birds that may be present, injured or killed on the Company's property during the period of this MOU. It is the intent of the signatories to this MOU that the development and implementation of an avian protection plan (APP) by the Company shall be a cooperative, non-adversarial endeavor, and all parties enter into this agreement with the intent to take reasonable steps to facilitate its successful ,execution. The goal bf the parties is to eliminate the unlawful take of migratory birds.

In order to achieve this goal, the Company will develop and maintain a comprehensive APP for its facilities and take reasonable steps to resolve any situations occurring on Company property which may pose a threat to migratory birds. Through the MOU and the Service's permitting procedures, the Company will retain records of mortalities and injured birds found on Company property, as discussed below.

The Service will exercise its discretionary authority not to submit for prosecution unlawful takings of migratory birds occurring on Company property or facilities during the term of this MOU, unless the Company commits a material breach of the MOU. The Service will also provide the Company with permits authorizing, where appropriate, removal of migratory bird nests from company facilities, as discussed below.

2. Period and Termination This MOU shall take effect immediately upon the date of its execution. This MOU shall be subject to termination upon 30 days written notice by any of the parties. Upon fulfillment of the terms and conditions of this MOU, at the Company's request, the Service shall provide the Company with written confirmation of such fulfillment.
3. Definitions For the purpose of this MOU, the following terms have these meanings:

"The Company" means Northern States Power Company (a Minnesota Corporation), its employees, agents, representatives, designees, successors and assigns.

Page I of 6

"Company property" means real property directly under and within the right-of-way of Company facilities, whether owned or operated by the Company, and real property owned or managed by the Company.

"Company facilities" means electric power transmission and distribution equipment owned, operated or maintained by the Company.

"The Service" means the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Region 3.

"The State" means Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, North Dakota State Game and Fish Department, South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks Department.

"Migratory birds" means the list of avian species described in 50 CFR § 10.13.

"Active nest" means a nest or nesting material that appears to contain or be occupied by eggs, young birds, adult birds, or adult birds which may be incubating eggs.

'inactive nest" means a nest or nesting material that does not appear to contain or be occupied by eggs, young birds, adult birds, or adult birds which may be incubating eggs.

"Avian Protection -Plan" and "APP" mean a comprehensive, professionally designed, managed and implemented program which evaluates threats posed to migratory birds by the Company's property and facilities and which seeks to eliminate these threats, so far as is possible, by such means as retrofitting, redesign and other methods in accordance with electric power industry standards present during the implementation of the plan.

"Special Purpose Permits" means those permits described in 50 CFR § 21.27, including, but not limited to, salvage, possession, nest removal, and rehabilitation permits.

"Depredation Permits" mean those permits described in 50 CFR § 21.41.

4. Development and Implementation of an Avian Protection Plan (APP)

A. Development Of A Draft APP Within 90 days after execution of this MOU, the Company shall arrange for the assessment of the Company facilities by qualified personnel for the purpose of developing a comprehensive APP. On or before a date agreed upon by the parties after execution of this agreement, the Company shall present to the Service a comprehensive written draft APP. If requested to do so by the Company, the Service will assist in the development of the APP by providing available technical information to the Company. The draft APP shall be designed by the Company using principles generally accepted by the electric power industry and/or the Service as providing the most effective means of protecting avian species from harm associated with electric power transmission or distribution. The draft APP shall describe in detail the actions to be taken to retrofit or modify the Company facilities or otherwise protect raptors and other migratory birds that may come into contact with the Company facilities. The draft APP shall include a schedule for the execution and completion of such actions, as well as an accounting of the material and approximate costs associated with implementation of the APP.

Page 2 of 6

B. APP Approval The draft APP shall be subject to the approval of the Service, which shall not unreasonably withhold, condition, or delay approval. Within 60 days of receipt of the draft APP, the Service shall review and either approve the draft APP or provide written comments to the*

Company. The parties agree to work together to resolve any areas of dispute concerning the content of the draft APP. If, within 180 days after communication of the Service's comments to the Company, the Company is unable to develop an APP acceptable to both parties, either party may terminate this MOU according to the terms of Paragraph 2 of this agreement. Should the Service fail to provide written approval or comments on the draft APP within the 60 day period, the APP shall be considered approved by the Service.

C. APP Implementation The Company shall begin implementation of the final APP within 30 days following Service approval of the draft APP. Subject to the consent and approval of any third-party owners of affected property, the Company shall, at all times during the period .covered by this MOU, allow the Service [and the State, if a signatory] access to Company property for the purpose of assessing implementation of the APP. The Service acknowledges that implementation of the APP, as it affects real or personal property of third parties, is subject to the consent and approval of such third parties. The Company shall make all reasonable efforts to secure approval from third-party owners for access as described above, and for implementation of the APP on property owned by third parties.

5. Enforcement Responsibility And Discretion Of The Service'-

The Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 U.S.C. § 703-712) prohibits the taking, killing, possession, sale, transportation and importation of migratory birds, their eggs, parts and nests, except when specifically authorized by the Secretary of the Interior. The Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (16 U.S.C. § 668) also prohibits the taking, possession, selling, purchasing, bartering, offer to sell, purchase or barter, transportation, exporting or importing, at any time or in any manner, of any bald eagle, commonly known as the American eagle, or any golden eagle, alive or dead, or any part, nest or egg thereof, except when specifically authorized by the Secretary of the Interior. While the acts have no provision for allowing unauthorized take, the parties recognize that some birds may be killed at structures associated with electrical transmission and distribution even if all reasonable measures to avoid such takes are implemented. The Service's Division of Law Enforcement carries out its mission to protect migratory birds not only through investigations and enforcement, but also through fostering relationships with individuals, companies, and industries who pro-actively seek to eliminate their impacts on migratory birds. While it is not possible under the acts to absolve individuals or companies from liability even if they implement avian mortality avoidance measures, enforcement will be focused, as it has been in the past, on those individuals or companies that take migratory birds with disregard for their actions and the law, and where no valid conservation measures have been properly applied. While the Company is party to the MOU, the Service will deem the Company to be sincere in its efforts to pro-actively protect migratory birds. The Service will exercise its discretionary authority not to submit for prosecution the unlawful take of migratory birds which occur on Company property or facilities, unless the Company commits a material breach of the MOU.

Page 3 of 6

6. Permit Requirements for Temporary Possession of Migratory Birds Upon the execution of the MOU, the Company will apply for a "Special Purpose Permit" from the Service which will authorize, but not require, the Company to retrieve, transport and temporarily possess carcasses of migratory birds, including eagles, according to the terms of the permit(s). Upon receiving such permit(s), the Company shall comply with the reporting and other requirements of the permit(s). The Service shall not unreasonably delay or deny issuance and renewal of such permit(s). If the Company has been issued Service permit(s) prior to the-execution of this MOU, the provisions and conditions of such permits shall be subject to review by the Service to ensure that their terms provide for compliance with this MOU.
7. ReportinglRetrieval Procedures: Avian Injury Upon discovering or being advised of any migratory bird found injured but still alive on Company property or facilities, the Company shall immediately report the injured bird to the Service for the State, if a signatory]. A general description of the apparent nature and extent of the injury, along with a description and the location of the bird, shall be provided in order to facilitate recovery by the Service, [or the State, if a signatory], or its designee. The Service [or the State, if a signatory] may authorize, but cannot require, the Company to take temporary possession of the injured bird. If, in the judgment of the Company, an emergency situation exists with respect to an injured bird, such as entanglement in electric power equipment, retrieval of the bird by the Company may be authorized telephonically by the Service [or the State, if a signatory] on a case-by-case basis.
8. ReportinglSalvage Procedures: Avian Death Upon discovering or being advised of any dead migratory bird on Company property or facilities, the Company shall contact the Service [or the State, if a signatory] within three (3) working days of such ,discovery. Such report shall include information describing the location, including proximity to and description of the nearest Company facility, apparent species of the dead bird and the details of its discovery. Following issuance of the special purpose salvage permit discussed above, the Company shall be authorized, but not required, to salvage such carcasses for later transfer to the Service [or the State, if a signatory]. The Company shall make reasonable attempts to inspect the dead bird to ascertain the presence or absence of bands, markers, or neck collars. If a dead bird is marked with a ýband, marker, or neck collar, the Company will advise the Service [or the State, if a signatory] of this fact during initial notification regarding the carcass.

The Service shall report to the Company any injured or dead bird which is reported to the Service by any means within three (3) working days of such notification or reporting. The report shall include available information describing the location of take, including proximity to and description of the nearest Company facility, apparent species of the dead bird and details of its discovery.

9. Procedures Concerning Migratory Bird Nests All actions taken regarding the nests of migratory birds shall be in accordance with the terms and conditions of a Service Special Purpose Permit or other authorization, as follows:

A. Removal, Molestation And Disturbance of Active Migratory Bird Nests Active nests of migratory birds present on Company property or facilities shall not be Page 4 of 6

moved, molested or disturbed by the Company unless first approved by the Service [or the State, if a signatory], or otherwise authorized within this MOU.

B. Emergency Removal of Active Nests Of Non-Endangered/Threatened, Non-eagle Migratory Birds.

The active nest of a migratory bird which is not listed as endangered or threatened within the Endangered Species Act, and which does not appear to be an eagle nest, which the Company believes poses an imminent danger to human health, safety, or property, or an impediment to the safe and'efficient provision of electrical power requiring emergency action, may be removed by the Company without prior approval of the Service (or the State, if a signatory). Prior to any such "emergency nest removal," however, the Company must make a diligent attempt to notify the Service [or the State, if a signatory] and seek approval for the removal. If such notification cannot be accomplished prior to the emergency nest removal, the Company shall notify the Service (or the State, if a signatory) during the first business day following the emergency nest removal of the date, of.the conditions and reason(s) for such emergency nest removal.

C. Emergency Removal Of Inactive Nests of Non-listed, Non-eagle Migratory Birds.

The inactive nest of a migratory bird which is not listed as endangered or threatened within the Endangered Species Act, and which does not appear to be an eagle nest, which the Company believes poses an imminent danger to human health, safety, or property, or an impediment to the safe and efficient provision of electrical power requiring emergency action, may be removed by the Company without prior approval of the Service or the State. Within a reasonable time following such removal, the Company shall notify the Service (or the State, if a signatory) of the date, conditions and reason(s) for the emergency nest removal.

D. Nests of Endangered/Threatened Migratory Birds Nests of migratory bird species which are listed at the time as Endangered or Threatened within the Endangered Species Act, whether active or inactive, shall not be removed, molested or disturbed by the Company unless specifically authorized by the Service, verbally or in writing, prior to such removal, molestation or disturbance.

10. Eagle Permits Actions taken by the Company that affect a non-endangered or non-threatened eagle species or its nest may also require the issuance of an eagle permit by the Service. Issuance of eagle permits will be on a case-by-case basis, and the Service shall not unreasonably deny or withhold such permit upon receiving a valid justification and application from the Company.
11. Record-Keeping Procedures The Company shall create and maintain records of all actions taken under this MOU.

Such record-keeping shall comply with the requirements of regulations and conditions associated with any permits issued by the Service and shall also include complete and accurate information pertaining to the date, location, specimen description, specimen condition, reporting action taken, retrieval and/or possession action(s) taken and personnel involved in each such action. The Company shall also keep and maintain records of the actions taken to develop and implement the APP. The Company shall permit the Service to inspect such records at any time Page 5 of 6

during regular business hours, upon reasonable prior notice.

Three months and two weeks after the date of the execution of this MOU, the Company shall complete and submit to the Service a report compiling the information described above regarding actions that occurred during the initial three-month period. The Company shall submit similar reports to the Service every six months thereafter, and within 30 days of the termination of this MOU. The reports to be submitted every six months are due within 30 days following each such period.

Northern States Power Company (a Minnesota Corporation), doing business a cel Energy, Inc.

Date: 04/19/2002 BY:

Name: Ken Zagzebski-;

Title: Vic President o-ield Operations U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE REG 0 Date: 03/11/2003 BY:

Title: Regional Dir or ..

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Date: BY: -

Name:

Title:

North Dakota State Game and Fish Department Date: BY:

Name:

Title:

South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks Department Date: BY:

Name:

Title:

Page 6 of 6

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