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Power-line risk for birds

Collision and electrocution risk index for birds in Cantabria and surroundings (Spain), per ~500 m cell, species and month, built from OpenStreetMap, GBIF/eBird, Movebank and terrain data.

Cantabria and surroundings (Spain) · bbox (42.75, -4.9, 43.55, -3.1) · generated on 2026-10-16 · sources: OpenStreetMap (ODbL), GBIF/eBird, Movebank Data Repository, AWS Terrain Tiles · All regions

4,540line segments
46,355mapped pylons
463wind turbines
18species included

Cantabria and surroundings (Spain) · bbox (42.75, -4.9, 43.55, -3.1) · generated on 2026-10-16 · sources: OpenStreetMap (ODbL), 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)

Species

Species Common nameGBIF records Movebank GPS fixesConfidence (weight in the aggregate) Included
Gyps fulvusGriffon Vulture20,14801.0yes
Neophron percnopterusEgyptian Vulture5,29801.0yes
Aegypius monachusCinereous Vulture25500.51yes
Gypaetus barbatusBearded Vulture56201.0yes
Aquila chrysaetosGolden Eagle1,23801.0yes
Circaetus gallicusShort-toed Snake Eagle2,34001.0yes
Hieraaetus pennatusBooted Eagle3,08401.0yes
Pernis apivorusEuropean Honey Buzzard1,30101.0yes
Milvus migransBlack Kite10,09601.0yes
Milvus milvusRed Kite4,89101.0yes
Falco peregrinusPeregrine Falcon5,86501.0yes
Ciconia ciconiaWhite Stork4,70601.0yes
Ciconia nigraBlack Stork14800.3yes
Grus grusCommon Crane12000.24yes
Bubo buboEurasian Eagle-Owl4700.09yes
Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocoraxRed-billed Chough9,45601.0yes
Platalea leucorodiaEurasian Spoonbill11,26301.0yes
Ardea cinereaGrey Heron20,00501.0yes

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

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Griffon Vulture111011109910111011911
Egyptian Vulture01101091213124000
Cinereous Vulture1116149856105
Bearded Vulture321322223332
Golden Eagle569544456754
Short-toed Snake Eagle0066689107100
Booted Eagle001789101010110
European Honey Buzzard00017912155000
Black Kite01131616191850000
Red Kite1512621111191316
Peregrine Falcon675566655545
White Stork388899720111
Black Stork002713421311510
Common Crane4441300016216
Eurasian Eagle-Owl08181001021119
Red-billed Chough8898875681098
Eurasian Spoonbill234443346732
Grey Heron98655657910910
TOTAL121216161817171512121112

Top 50 elements to prioritise

# TypeMechanism Risk max.Mean Peak monthSpecies CategoryOperator OSM
1pylonelectrocution570186FebPeregrine Falcon, Golden Eagle, Red Kitedistribution nan12993340880
2pylonelectrocution569316FebWhite Stork, Red Kite, Griffon Vulturedistribution nan11360367676
3power lineline collision486245JulBooted Eagle, European Honey Buzzard, Short-toed Snake Eagledistribution 12 kVnan762327626
4pylonelectrocution438143FebPeregrine Falcon, Golden Eagle, Red Kitedistribution nan8454483515
5pylonelectrocution438143FebPeregrine Falcon, Golden Eagle, Red Kitedistribution nan8454483513
6pylonelectrocution438143FebPeregrine Falcon, Golden Eagle, Red Kitedistribution nan7741045702
7pylonelectrocution438143FebPeregrine Falcon, Golden Eagle, Red Kitedistribution nan8454483514
8pylonelectrocution438143FebPeregrine Falcon, Golden Eagle, Red Kitedistribution nan8454483497
9pylonelectrocution438143FebPeregrine Falcon, Golden Eagle, Red Kitedistribution nan7740504270
10pylonelectrocution438143FebPeregrine Falcon, Golden Eagle, Red Kitedistribution nan7740516489
11pylonelectrocution438143FebPeregrine Falcon, Golden Eagle, Red Kitedistribution nan12993329026
12pylonelectrocution438143FebPeregrine Falcon, Golden Eagle, Red Kitedistribution nan12993329025
13pylonelectrocution438143FebPeregrine Falcon, Golden Eagle, Red Kitedistribution nan7741045703
14pylonelectrocution438143FebPeregrine Falcon, Golden Eagle, Red Kitedistribution nan7741045705
15pylonelectrocution438143FebPeregrine Falcon, Golden Eagle, Red Kitedistribution nan12993331807
16pylonelectrocution438143FebPeregrine Falcon, Golden Eagle, Red Kitedistribution nan12993340882
17pylonelectrocution438143FebPeregrine Falcon, Golden Eagle, Red Kiteunknown nan12993331808
18pylonelectrocution438143FebPeregrine Falcon, Golden Eagle, Red Kitedistribution nan7741045704
19pylonelectrocution438143FebPeregrine Falcon, Golden Eagle, Red Kitedistribution nan7740504271
20pylonelectrocution438143FebPeregrine Falcon, Golden Eagle, Red Kitedistribution nan7740504269
21pylonelectrocution438143FebPeregrine Falcon, Golden Eagle, Red Kitedistribution nan8454483498
22pylonelectrocution438243FebWhite Stork, Red Kite, Griffon Vulturedistribution nan8446656317
23pylonelectrocution438243FebWhite Stork, Red Kite, Griffon Vulturedistribution nan8446656316
24pylonelectrocution438243FebWhite Stork, Red Kite, Griffon Vulturedistribution nan10015355836
25pylonelectrocution438243FebWhite Stork, Red Kite, Griffon Vulturedistribution nan11360360425
26pylonelectrocution438243FebWhite Stork, Red Kite, Griffon Vulturedistribution nan8407002194
27pylonelectrocution438243FebWhite Stork, Red Kite, Griffon Vulturedistribution nan11360533520
28pylonelectrocution426199JanRed Kite, Grey Heron, Griffon Vulturedistribution 12 kVnan12027869855
29pylonelectrocution398221FebWhite Stork, Red Kite, Griffon Vulturedistribution nan8407002193
30pylonelectrocution398221FebWhite Stork, Red Kite, Griffon Vultureunknown nan10572808543
31pylonelectrocution398221FebWhite Stork, Red Kite, Griffon Vulturedistribution nan8407002196
32pylonelectrocution398221FebWhite Stork, Red Kite, Griffon Vulturedistribution nan8407002192
33pylonelectrocution398221FebWhite Stork, Red Kite, Griffon Vulturedistribution nan8407002197
34pylonelectrocution398221FebWhite Stork, Red Kite, Griffon Vulturedistribution nan8407002198
35pylonelectrocution398221FebWhite Stork, Red Kite, Griffon Vulturedistribution nan8407002195
36pylonelectrocution398221FebWhite Stork, Red Kite, Griffon Vultureunknown nan11472799916
37pylonelectrocution395150FebRed Kite, Griffon Vulture, Black Kitedistribution 12 kVnan12029512710
38power lineline collision392190JulShort-toed Snake Eagle, European Honey Buzzard, Booted Eagledistribution 12 kVnan762360816
39power lineline collision387181JulShort-toed Snake Eagle, Egyptian Vulture, Griffon Vulturedistribution 30 kVnan1465685272
40power lineline collision387181JulShort-toed Snake Eagle, Egyptian Vulture, Griffon Vulturetransmission 132 kVnan405819608
41pylonelectrocution375130AugShort-toed Snake Eagle, Booted Eagle, Egyptian Vulturedistribution 12 kVnan13709223747
42pylonelectrocution365172JulBearded Vulture, Short-toed Snake Eagle, Egyptian Vulturedistribution 12 kVnan13324182408
43pylonelectrocution365172JulBearded Vulture, Short-toed Snake Eagle, Egyptian Vulturedistribution 12 kVnan4079699331
44pylonelectrocution359223SepBearded Vulture, Red-billed Chough, Golden Eagledistribution 12 kVnan13464943763
45pylonelectrocution359223SepBearded Vulture, Red-billed Chough, Golden Eagledistribution 12 kVnan2971306542
46pylonelectrocution359223SepBearded Vulture, Red-billed Chough, Golden Eagledistribution 12 kVnan2971306540
47pylonelectrocution359223SepBearded Vulture, Red-billed Chough, Golden Eagledistribution 12 kVnan2971306541
48pylonelectrocution359223SepBearded Vulture, Red-billed Chough, Golden Eagledistribution 12 kVnan2971306538
49pylonelectrocution359223SepBearded Vulture, Red-billed Chough, Golden Eagledistribution 12 kVnan2971306539
50pylonelectrocution359223SepBearded Vulture, Red-billed Chough, Golden Eagledistribution 12 kVnan2971306547

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

How it is computed

  1. Infrastructure. Power lines, pylons and wind turbines are downloaded from OpenStreetMap (Overpass). Lines up to 66 kV are distribution (electrocution risk, the scope of Spanish Royal Decree 1432/2008); above that they only count for collision. Pylons inherit the voltage of their line. Each 0.005° cell gets km of line, distribution pylons and wind turbines. Where OSM has no pylons mapped, 6 per km of distribution line are assumed; the count is capped at 20 pylons per cell (more than that is a substation).
  2. Pylon hazard. Each pylon carries a hazard factor of 0.5-2 derived from its OSM tags (material, insulator type, branch connections, cross-arm design; criteria of Royal Decree 1432/2008), or 1.0 when it has no tags; that factor also scales its position in the ranking.
  3. Presence. Monthly relative frequency = density of records of the species / density of records of all birds (sampling effort), smoothed (σ = 1,500 m with at least 300 records in the month, wider with fewer). Records repeated at the same spot, month and year are weighted by the square root of their count. GBIF data from 2010 onwards, eBird included. Where GPS tracking (Movebank) is available it is blended in as individual-days per cell with a weight of up to 50%, proportional to the number of fixes (full weight from 2,000 on). Where eBird Status & Trends GeoTIFFs are present in data/ebirdst/ they carry 70% against the GBIF frequency.
  4. Terrain. Slope (collision with conductors) and topographic position at 1,500 m (ridges, wind turbines).
  5. Species weights (electrocution / line collision / turbine collision / conservation status) are defined in birdrisk/config.py, drawn from the literature. They are a starting point, not a fit to mortality data. In the aggregate index each species is weighted by status x confidence, with confidence = max(min(1, records/500), min(1, GPS fixes/2000)), or 1 with an eBird model: a species with few records has an unreliable map and must not dominate the ranking.
  6. Index and ranking. Per species, month and cell: electrocution = presence x weight x equivalent pylons; line collision = presence x weight x km of line x (1 + relief); turbine collision = presence x weight x turbines x (1 + ridge). Each index is rescaled so that the 99th percentile of the cells with infrastructure in the region is 100, without clipping the maxima. Each pylon takes the electrocution index of its cell times its hazard factor; each line segment, the mean along its route; each wind turbine, the index of its cell. The peak month and the species that contribute most are kept.

Parameters

Grid cell0.005°
Maximum distribution voltage66 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

Validation

Pending. The ranking has not yet been checked against real mortality: there is no open dataset of electrocuted or collided birds in Spain. The first planned check is against the Basque Government's shapefile of hazardous power lines (region euskadi); once mortality points are available, the species weights will be fitted with a logistic regression.

Limits