site.btaElectricity Distribution Company Installs 324 New Platforms for Stork Nests

The Elektrorazpredelenie Yug EAD (EP Yug) (the electricity distribution company in South East Bulgaria) installed 324 new platforms for stork nests, the company said on Thursday.

The company pointed out that over the past 15 years, the number of platforms for securing stork nests on the power grid exceeds 3,750, with the last 324 new facilities installed in the first two months of 2025. The company has also secured 413 electric poles and installed 540 reflective markers on overhead wires to protect the birds.

Power poles are a preferred place for storks to place their nests, with these nests often in close proximity to the electric wires. By installing protective platforms, the nests are raised to a distance of about 1 metre from the wires, EVN noted, adding that this not only protects the lives of the birds, but also reduces the potential danger of setting the nests on fire. The protection is carried out before the spring migration of the birds and within the period approved by the Environment and Waters Ministry.

Storks form pairs for life, but males and females spend the winter in different places, an ornithologist pointed out to BTA. The male storks begin their spring migration earlier in order to prepare the nest in which the young will be raised. The population of the white stork is about 220,000 individuals, which represents almost the entire population in Europe.