Brushing and Birds

Following up on our post of earlier today, we have had more questions about our practice of brushing and how we ensure the protection of nesting birds.

Before we do any brushing, we are required to do a visual inspection to look for nests. If we find any active nests, we ribbon off the area and leave it untouched, and come back to it when we know for sure the birds have left the nest.

In cases where we find more than a few nests within the distance between one power pole and another, we will leave that entire span and come back to it later when the birds have left.

In terms of the qualifications needed for the crews doing the inspections, they are required to have special training and must be re-certified every two years. This is standard practice with other Canadian utilities. In the case of the brushers working in the Dawson area right now, the contractor does indeed have this training. That being said, if there is a local bird expert who would like to go along with our contractor for any of the inspections, you would be welcome to do that. Please call 393-5333 to arrange.

As for the brushing required at Henderson Corner, we have listened to the concerns of some local residents and have decided to wait a couple of weeks to brush this area, to ensure no warbler or other nests are distrubed.