By: Richard Zhao

Each year, an estimated 10 million birds die by electrocution from power lines. However, a shocking amount of birds also die from being shot while perched on power poles.

Researchers found that at 5 sites where there were dead birds, two-thirds of the corpses had gunshot wounds. “We really need X-rays to understand fully what may have happened,” said Eve Thomason, a wildlife biologist at Boise State University. She notes that while dead avians near power poles are often assumed to have died from electrocution, some of those animals could have been injured or killed beforehand.

Thomason collected 410 bird corpses along a total of 122 miles of power lines in Idaho, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming. Of the 175 birds that had a discernable cause of death, 66 percent died from gunshots. Different locations had differing proportions of birds that died from being shot. At two locations, all birds that perished died from gunshots. At another site, only 39 percent died from shootings.

The killed birds were mostly eagles, hawks, and falcons, which are illegal to kill under multiple U.S. laws. Researchers are still trying to figure out why people are targeting such birds. Brian Millsap, an ornithologist at New Mexico State University, recalls that “There’s just been a ton of work done to get the word out that raptors aren’t the vermin that they were thought to be.” Researchers had assumed that shooting rates would decline after the efforts of wildlife agencies informing people who live near such creatures. However, a shocking amount of protected birds are shot in areas where residents have been taught not to kill raptors.

Researchers are also studying what causes people to illegally shoot at protected birds. “What’s essential in order to stop the declines of birds is to understand what’s causing the declines of birds,” Pete Marra, an ornithologist that studied the decline of North American bird populations, said. Previously, researchers had assumed power lines to be the main cause of death for falcons in an urban area. Now, they realize that most birds die from illegal shootings instead. However, preventing birds from being illegally killed is a challenging process, as it would require shooters to be found, arrested, and prosecuted, all of which take time and resources.