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Power-line risk for birds

Collision and electrocution risk index for birds in Camargue (Bouches-du-Rhône and Gard, France), per ~500 m cell, species and month, built from OpenStreetMap, Enedis, GBIF/eBird, Movebank and terrain data.

Camargue (Bouches-du-Rhône and Gard, France) · bbox (43.32, 4.2, 43.68, 4.72) · generated on 2026-10-16 · sources: OpenStreetMap (ODbL), Enedis Open Data, IGN Admin Express, GBIF/eBird, Movebank Data Repository, AWS Terrain Tiles · All regions

1,272line segments
4,248mapped pylons
0wind turbines
9species included

Camargue (Bouches-du-Rhône and Gard, France) · bbox (43.32, 4.2, 43.68, 4.72) · generated on 2026-10-16 · sources: OpenStreetMap (ODbL), Enedis Open Data, IGN Admin Express, GBIF/eBird, Movebank Data Repository, AWS Terrain Tiles · All regions

Switch on a monthly layer in the map's layer control to see the seasonality. The circles are the elements with the highest correction priority (pylons, wind turbines and line segments).

Infrastructure in the area (OSM and Enedis, French territory only)

Species

Species Common nameGBIF records Movebank GPS fixesConfidence (weight in the aggregate) Included
Phoenicopterus roseusGreater Flamingo21,23901.0yes
Ciconia ciconiaWhite Stork16,14401.0yes
Platalea leucorodiaEurasian Spoonbill7,09001.0yes
Ardea purpureaPurple Heron8,50901.0yes
Ardea cinereaGrey Heron20,45901.0yes
Grus grusCommon Crane5,31301.0yes
Milvus migransBlack Kite9,44001.0yes
Circaetus gallicusShort-toed Snake Eagle5,02701.0yes
Bubo buboEurasian Eagle-Owl25500.51yes

Seasonality of the risk (mean index over cells with infrastructure)

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Greater Flamingo91087889891099
White Stork191915121116161310131817
Eurasian Spoonbill23410161718158212
Purple Heron00620212828199110
Grey Heron201913111116161520191819
Common Crane22232110000041420
Black Kite01212124253392100
Short-toed Snake Eagle0019202422251615300
Eurasian Eagle-Owl181715161077419142325
TOTAL161622232426291818131617

Top 50 elements to prioritise

# TypeMechanism Risk max.Mean Peak monthSpecies CategoryOperator Source
1power lineline collision270146JulEurasian Spoonbill, Purple Heron, Black Kitedistribution EnedisEnedis dataset
2power lineline collision270146JulEurasian Spoonbill, Purple Heron, Black Kitedistribution EnedisEnedis dataset
3pylonelectrocution254129JunShort-toed Snake Eagle, Eurasian Spoonbill, White Storkdistribution EnedisEnedis dataset
4pylonelectrocution254129JunShort-toed Snake Eagle, Eurasian Spoonbill, White Storkdistribution EnedisEnedis dataset
5pylonelectrocution254129JunShort-toed Snake Eagle, Eurasian Spoonbill, White Storkdistribution 20 kVEnedis5387886466
6pylonelectrocution254129JunShort-toed Snake Eagle, Eurasian Spoonbill, White Storkdistribution EnedisEnedis dataset
7pylonelectrocution231118JunShort-toed Snake Eagle, Eurasian Spoonbill, White Storkdistribution EnedisEnedis dataset
8pylonelectrocution231118JunShort-toed Snake Eagle, Eurasian Spoonbill, White Storkdistribution EnedisEnedis dataset
9pylonelectrocution231118JunShort-toed Snake Eagle, Eurasian Spoonbill, White Storkdistribution EnedisEnedis dataset
10pylonelectrocution231118JunShort-toed Snake Eagle, Eurasian Spoonbill, White Storkdistribution EnedisEnedis dataset
11power lineline collision231170MayEurasian Spoonbill, Greater Flamingo, Black Kitedistribution EnedisEnedis dataset
12power lineline collision214158MayEurasian Spoonbill, Black Kite, Greater Flamingodistribution EnedisEnedis dataset
13power lineline collision214158MayEurasian Spoonbill, Black Kite, Greater Flamingodistribution EnedisEnedis dataset
14power lineline collision214158MayEurasian Spoonbill, Black Kite, Greater Flamingodistribution EnedisEnedis dataset
15power lineline collision212155MayEurasian Spoonbill, Greater Flamingo, Black Kitedistribution EnedisEnedis dataset
16power lineline collision194141MayEurasian Spoonbill, Greater Flamingo, Black Kitedistribution EnedisEnedis dataset
17power lineline collision194141MayEurasian Spoonbill, Greater Flamingo, Black Kitedistribution EnedisEnedis dataset
18power lineline collision192111JunPurple Heron, White Stork, Eurasian Spoonbilldistribution EnedisEnedis dataset
19power lineline collision192111JunPurple Heron, White Stork, Eurasian Spoonbilldistribution EnedisEnedis dataset
20power lineline collision192111JunPurple Heron, White Stork, Eurasian Spoonbilldistribution EnedisEnedis dataset
21pylonelectrocution190124JulWhite Stork, Purple Heron, Black Kitedistribution EnedisEnedis dataset
22power lineline collision188135MayEurasian Spoonbill, Black Kite, Greater Flamingodistribution EnedisEnedis dataset
23power lineline collision188135MayEurasian Spoonbill, Black Kite, Greater Flamingodistribution EnedisEnedis dataset
24power lineline collision188103JulEurasian Spoonbill, Purple Heron, Black Kitedistribution EnedisEnedis dataset
25pylonelectrocution18699JunShort-toed Snake Eagle, Purple Heron, Eurasian Spoonbilldistribution EnedisEnedis dataset
26pylonelectrocution18699JunShort-toed Snake Eagle, Purple Heron, Eurasian Spoonbilldistribution EnedisEnedis dataset
27pylonelectrocution18699JunShort-toed Snake Eagle, Purple Heron, Eurasian Spoonbilldistribution EnedisEnedis dataset
28pylonelectrocution18699JunShort-toed Snake Eagle, Purple Heron, Eurasian Spoonbilldistribution EnedisEnedis dataset
29pylonelectrocution18699JunShort-toed Snake Eagle, Purple Heron, Eurasian Spoonbilldistribution EnedisEnedis dataset
30pylonelectrocution18699JunShort-toed Snake Eagle, Purple Heron, Eurasian Spoonbilldistribution EnedisEnedis dataset
31pylonelectrocution18399JunShort-toed Snake Eagle, Purple Heron, Eurasian Spoonbilldistribution EnedisEnedis dataset
32pylonelectrocution18399JunShort-toed Snake Eagle, Purple Heron, Eurasian Spoonbilldistribution EnedisEnedis dataset
33pylonelectrocution18399JunShort-toed Snake Eagle, Purple Heron, Eurasian Spoonbilldistribution EnedisEnedis dataset
34pylonelectrocution18399JunShort-toed Snake Eagle, Purple Heron, Eurasian Spoonbilldistribution EnedisEnedis dataset
35pylonelectrocution18399JunShort-toed Snake Eagle, Purple Heron, Eurasian Spoonbilldistribution EnedisEnedis dataset
36pylonelectrocution18399JunShort-toed Snake Eagle, Purple Heron, Eurasian Spoonbilldistribution EnedisEnedis dataset
37pylonelectrocution18399JunShort-toed Snake Eagle, Purple Heron, Eurasian Spoonbilldistribution EnedisEnedis dataset
38power lineline collision176131MayEurasian Spoonbill, Greater Flamingo, Black Kitedistribution EnedisEnedis dataset
39power lineline collision174127MayEurasian Spoonbill, Greater Flamingo, Black Kitedistribution EnedisEnedis dataset
40pylonelectrocution17190JulEurasian Spoonbill, Purple Heron, Black Kitedistribution EnedisEnedis dataset
41pylonelectrocution17190JulEurasian Spoonbill, Purple Heron, Black Kitedistribution EnedisEnedis dataset
42pylonelectrocution17190JulEurasian Spoonbill, Purple Heron, Black Kitedistribution EnedisEnedis dataset
43pylonelectrocution17190JulEurasian Spoonbill, Purple Heron, Black Kitedistribution EnedisEnedis dataset
44pylonelectrocution17190JulEurasian Spoonbill, Purple Heron, Black Kitedistribution EnedisEnedis dataset
45pylonelectrocution17190JulEurasian Spoonbill, Purple Heron, Black Kitedistribution EnedisEnedis dataset
46pylonelectrocution17058MarShort-toed Snake Eagle, Black Kite, White Storkdistribution EnedisEnedis dataset
47pylonelectrocution17058MarShort-toed Snake Eagle, Black Kite, White Storkdistribution EnedisEnedis dataset
48pylonelectrocution17058MarShort-toed Snake Eagle, Black Kite, White Storkdistribution EnedisEnedis dataset
49pylonelectrocution17058MarShort-toed Snake Eagle, Black Kite, White Storkdistribution EnedisEnedis dataset
50pylonelectrocution17058MarShort-toed Snake Eagle, Black Kite, White Storkdistribution EnedisEnedis dataset

Full ranking in ranking_elements.csv and ranking_elements.geojson; monthly rasters in risk_total.tif.

How it is computed

The French regions use the same model as the Spanish ones; what changes is where the infrastructure comes from, the voltage threshold and the conservation status.

  1. Distribution network: Enedis. Enedis, which runs about 95% of mainland France's distribution network, publishes every overhead medium-voltage (HTA) line (réseau HTA, Licence Ouverte 2.0) and the position of its poles, HTA or low voltage (poteaux HTA et BT, ODbL). They are downloaded for the region's bounding box. The poles file does not say which network each pole belongs to: a pole within 10 m of an overhead HTA line is counted as an HTA pole. The file is incomplete: it holds about half the poles one would expect on the HTA lines, so the pylons mapped in OSM fill the gaps.
  2. Transmission lines and wind turbines: OpenStreetMap. RTE's lines and pylons (63 kV and above) and the wind turbines come from OpenStreetMap (Overpass), as in Spain. Lines up to 50 kV are distribution (electrocution and collision); above that, transmission (collision only). In Spain the threshold is 66 kV (Royal Decree 1432/2008); in France the HTA network ends at 50 kV and 63 kV is already RTE's.
  3. Merging both sources. An OSM distribution line that runs within 25 m of Enedis HTA for at least 50% of its length is the same line and is dropped; the others stay (local distributors such as SICAE or régies, which publish no data). An OSM pylon within 15 m of an Enedis pole is the same pylon: the Enedis pole takes its OSM tags (material, insulators, cross-arm), which set its hazard factor, and the OSM copy is dropped. OSM pylons with no Enedis twin are kept (they are the poles missing from the Enedis file), except those tagged below 1 kV (low voltage). Where a cell has fewer mapped pylons than its line length implies, the model estimates the rest, as in Spain, so nothing is counted twice.
  4. French territory only. Every element outside the French departments that cross the region (IGN Admin Express) is clipped away: in the Pyrenees the bounding box takes in part of Spain, where there is no Enedis data and the count would be lower for that reason alone. The birds are counted over the whole box, since they fly across the border.
  5. Presence, terrain, index and ranking as in Spain: GBIF/eBird records corrected for sampling effort (density of the species' records / density of all bird records, smoothed at σ = 1,500 m), Movebank where available, slope and ridges, then a 0-100 index per species, month and 0.005° cell. Electrocution = presence x weight x pylons; line collision = presence x weight x km of line x (1 + relief); turbine collision = presence x weight x turbines x (1 + ridge).
  6. Conservation status. Each species weighs according to the Red List of the breeding birds of mainland France (UICN France, MNHN, LPO, SEOF, ONCFS, 2016): CR 1, EN 0.9, VU 0.8, NT 0.6, LC 0.4-0.5. Common Crane and White-tailed Eagle are weighted as the wintering birds they are in these regions.
  7. Natura 2000 sites come from the European Environment Agency (SPA = ZPS, SAC = ZSC).

Parameters

Grid cell0.005°
Maximum distribution voltage50 kV
Pylons assumed where none are mapped6 per km
Pylon cap per cell20
Record smoothing (σ)1,500 m with ≥300 records in the month
GBIF recordsfrom 2010, up to 20,000 per species
Minimum records to include a species30
Full confidence500 records or 2,000 GPS fixes
Maximum GPS weight (Movebank)50%
eBird Status & Trends weight70%
Slope at which line collision doubles25°
Topographic position radius1,500 m
Scale99th percentile = 100
Enedis pole counted as HTA≤10 m from an HTA line
OSM pylon and Enedis pole are the same≤15 m apart
OSM line duplicated by Enedis≥50% of its length ≤25 m from HTA

Validation

Pending, as in Spain: there is no open dataset of birds killed by power lines in France to check the ranking against. The LPO and the national action plans keep records that are not open.

What is left out, and why

Limits