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Utility Pole Bluebirding
Dean Sheldon's Utility Pole Bluebirding ArticleDate: Thu, 22 Mar 2001 08:22:52 -0600 Some of us hang their boxes on utility poles. I am expanding my trail this season and one of my options for this is to utilize the utility poles in open areas. I am wondering how one goes about getting permission to hang boxes on poles. Do you contact the utility company (who do you ask for), the county, or the landowner??? Or do you just hang them and hope it is okay?? Thanks---
Date: Thu, 22 Mar 2001 08:43:41 -0600 In the distant past, linemen used "hooks" or climbers, a device strapped to their legs and boots, to climb poles. . In the old days, attaching anything to a utility pole around here was strictly prohibited! Now, most have forgotten how to use them. The local utility uses trucks with "buckets" attached to long folding booms to service the pole tops. The system manager gave me permission to put a box on every pole in the county if I wanted to. Even told me to put sheet metal predator guards on them if I like! However, if the line was across a fence from the road, I would consider it good manners to ask the land owner also, since you will be climbing his fence. Bill Some of us hang their boxes on utility poles. I am expanding
my
Date: Thu, 22 Mar 2001 10:02:04 -0500 I would definitely check with your utility company first. In our area we cannot in anyway impede access to the pole - this means I can't hang anything on the pole in the back corner of my property and I can't put any plants around it's base. Your utility company may have their own policy in effect - I would check with them first. kimmarie :) -----Original Message----- From: Gilliam, Jay [mailto:GILLIAMJT"at"phibred.com] Some of us hang their boxes on utility poles. I am expanding my trail this season and one of my options for this is to utilize the utility poles in open areas. I am wondering how one goes about getting permission to hang boxes on poles. Do you contact the utility company (who do you ask for), the county, or the landowner??? Or do you just hang them and hope it is okay?? Thanks--- Jay Gilliam
Date: Thu, 22 Mar 2001 11:01:56 EST Shawna B. NW NJ Zone 6 Here in Sussex County, NJ all you need to do is get permission from the land owner where the pole is. The utility company told me that I needed to get the land owner's OK even though the land may really be an easement, this area of NJ is very rural and I have never had a farmer turn me down, they usually tell me that they don't care what I do. And after they see the Blues using the boxes they usually stop to talk to me and have many questions about the Blues, One farmer even asked if I would place a box in his yard so he could see the Blues better. Don't be afraid to ask, you may feel funny at first just reassure the land owner you will do no damage and just be sure you let them know you will be checking the boxes a few times a week this way you don't feel funny when he happens to be in the fields while you are there. Happy Bluebirding, Shawna
Date: Thu, 22 Mar 2001 13:10:47 -0600 Well, I contacted the utility company by E-mail and got a quick reply. They denied my request saying hanging boxes on a pole "that it can cause an integrity problem in the wood". I replied to them that I would not be nailing/screwing the boxes into the wood and that I would be using plastic zip-ties that wrap around the pole. I am waiting for a reply. The farthest up the ladder I got was a customer representative, maybe I need to go higher up?? I also informed them that other companies have allowed boxes on poles and that they were more than happy to allow it, in the interest of increasing local bluebird populations. I asked if a compromise could be worked out between us. Any other ideas that might help me to persuade the company to allow me to do this?? Thanks--- Jay Gilliam ...
Date: Thu, 22 Mar 2001 17:17:25 -0400 Haleya Priest Amherst MA Just a hint and suggestion, but it was suggested to me to NOT to ask for permission and simply hang a couple boxes on poles and wait and see if they are taken down by the power company. The theory here (and I agree) is that if you call them, they've got to follow all of their "rules", but if you just hang some and wait and see what they do, that the human beings who work for the electric companies, and are on the road, may be way more flex and not mind them there at all. Which seems to be true in my case. I know that this method may not work for everyone and I can respect your need to check things out - but I for one have found that my boxes are still on the poles that I put them on last year and I now feel I have a green light, should I choose, to put up more boxes on poles.... PS, I know one bluebirder who has his entire trail of 120 boxes on poles and he never asked for permission. Has had his trail up for a LONG time. :-) H
Date: Thu, 22 Mar 2001 14:12:19 -0700 I AGREE "DON'T ASK DON'T TELL" works for me but I no longer put boxes on utility poles. I only use free standing on EMT tubing, EMT on wooden fence post or "T" post. I found out that utility poles limit your choice of habitat. Just my thoughts on the subject. Bob Bob Wilson ...
Date: Thu, 22 Mar 2001 14:15:27 -0700 This is a great illustration of the theory that I live by, "It's easier to get forgiveness than permission." I have been in the military and have worked for the government, and have tested this theory dozens of times. The corollary is "don't bother the beaurocrat, and the beaurocrat won't bother you...." I have a couple of bat houses on utility poles near my house.... been there for a couple of years... no one has ever batted an eye... ;-| If I were going to hang them on poles on someone else's land, and I would have to walk onto their land to attend to them, I would ask the landowner. -Theresa"at"BowEcho.com Just a hint and suggestion, but it was suggested to me to
NOT to ask
Date: Thu, 22 Mar 2001 15:14:31 -0600 An old military maxim: "It is easier to get forgiveness than permission!" Bill Haleya Priest Amherst MA
Date: Thu, 22 Mar 2001 17:23:40 -0500 I'm sorry that the utility company denied your request, I made the suggestion to check with them based on personal experience (a loss of two beautiful holly plants pulled up by the roots)... Where we are located it is very difficult for company personell to reach the poles via a bucket so they come through several times a year to check for accezzzbility and make sure the poles are clear... I think it is rather amusing that they would tell you it would interfere with the wood's integrity... have you seen the bolts they put through the poles????? Sorry my suggestion was a bust... have to confess that the rebel in me would put up a few any way, just to see what happens... kimmarie :) Buffalo/Varysburg Western NY -----Original Message----- From: Gilliam, Jay Well, I contacted the utility company by E-mail and got a quick reply. They denied my request saying hanging boxes on a pole "that it can cause an integrity problem in the wood". I replied to them that I would not be nailing/screwing the boxes into the wood and that I would be using plastic zip-ties that wrap around the pole. I am waiting for a reply. The farthest up the ladder I got was a customer representative, maybe I need to go higher up?? I also informed them that other companies have allowed boxes on poles and that they were more than happy to allow it, in the interest of increasing local bluebird populations. I asked if a compromise could be worked out between us. Any other ideas that might help me to persuade the company to allow me to do this?? Thanks--- Jay Gilliam -----Original Message----- From: Gilliam, Jay Some of us hang their boxes on utility poles. I am expanding my trail this season and one of my options for this is to utilize the utility poles in open areas. I am wondering how one goes about getting permission to hang boxes on poles. Do you contact the utility company (who do you ask for), the county, or the landowner??? Or do you just hang them and hope it is okay?? Thanks--- Jay Gilliam
Date: Thu, 22 Mar 2001 17:24:16 -0500 It's early in the season....please do not take any further steps until Jim McClochlin gets an index site on The Best of BLUEBIRD-L Classified on the REFGUIDE. I'm not sure that my Sialia article[Volume 17, Number3], Summer 1995 is the definitive word...but it comes very close. Jim will have this on the REFGUIDE website shortly...Dean Sheldon, Huron Countyu, Oh
Date: Thu, 22 Mar 2001 19:13:29 -0500 From: "MCLOCHLIN, JAMES T" jmclochlin"at"oppd.com Dean, Sorry for the response from work. I will add a classification for Utility Pole Bluebirding on Best of Bluebird Mailing Lists classified ASAP. In the interim the URL directly to your article is : http://audubon-omaha.org/bbbox/nabs/ds1.htm Feel free to forward this Message to the list if you like. I must add that the use of the search page on my web site would have indicated the following links/files: Utility Pole Bluebirding Notice the top one points to your article. Jim McLochlin -----Original Message----- From: Dean Sheldon [SMTP:dsheldonjr"at"hotmail.com]
Date: Fri, 23 Mar 2001 09:49:10 -0600 Hi All--- I want to thank everybody for their advice on getting permission to mount nestboxes on utility poles. I first asked permission from the utility company (a customer representative) and was denied because they felt that nailing/screwing into the pole would induce rust and rotting of the wood. I appealed this denial stating that I would not be screwing/nailing but using plastic cable-ties to strap the boxes onto the poles. Meanwhile, I received more advice from the group saying to "just do it" so that is what I was planning on doing. Late yesterday I received a reply to my appeal and they have granted me permission to put my boxes up as long as I don't use nails or screws!! The customer rep. talked with the line manager for the area and that was his decision. He also said that if they had to climb the poles to do work that they would have to remove my boxes and would not replace them for me. So I guess there are two ways to approach the situation of utility poles and nestboxes. You can try to ask permission, but it is best if you talk with a manager for the area (not a customer rep.). Or you can hang them without asking permission. Either way I think they will take down your box if they need to work on that pole. A special thanks to Dean Sheldon for helping out with this situation and to Jim McLochlin for making Dean's article available for all of us!! Jay Gilliam
Date: Wed, 02 May 2001 12:09:17 -0400 Haleya Priest Amherst MA Ok - I need help making a decision: I have a friend monitoring two telephone pole mounted boxes I put up for her. Both got EABL immediately :-) She and I haven't been in close contact about the boxes (mistake on my part) but she called me AFTER the fact. One week ago there were 5 eggs in the box. Sat there were 4 and she found them dropped down into the nest (nest material over them). She called Monday morning. I shot over there and there were only 3 eggs left with nesting material over. Today, all eggs are gone and there is a pair of EABL going in and out of the box. My question: What do you think happened? I have aluminum flashing and can put that up on the pole below the box or I can move the box off the telephone pole and mount it on electric conduit just across the street. Or I can do nothing and see what happens. I am going to look and see if eggs under box - but right now I don't know. I didn't see eggs on ground the other day and HOWR have not arrived and no HOSP in area. I thought maybe a mouse got in the box, but doesn't look like it. Snake? Advice appreciated. PS - I just went to check the box and see no eggs on the ground and it appears the cup of the nest is thicker than before, but the edges of the nest don't seem to be. This is not HOSP work. Date: Wed, 2 May 2001 13:23:07 -0400 ---------- Original Message ---------------------------------- Hi Haleya & All: Thru the process of elimination I would guess the Bluebird
eggs have satisfied the curiosity of a human. We can eliminate
the HOSP and House Wren based on your stated facts. Can we assume
the box can be reached easily as it is close to the road? Last
summer I recall reading a report on missing eggs from one of
our well-known members in the Texas area who tracked down missing
eggs and learned they were taken by a craft club who were decorating
the "pretty blue eggs"...ugh! Also, the reason you see male & female entering box is that they are no doubt searching for the missing eggs. Usually, during egg-laying the male maintains a vigil close by without entering the box often. I would place the box across the road like you mentioned. Just some thoughts - would be interested in hearing other opinions. Betty Nichols, Middletown, MD Haleya Priest Amherst MA Date: Wed, 2 May 2001 20:59:33 EDT Hi Haleya, My first thought was the same as Betty's - sounds like human interference, not that I have had any experience of that but it just struck me immediately from your description that that is what it might be. What a terrible shame. I hope it works out for the pair when you move the box. Jane Date: Thu, 26 Jul 2001 11:36:59 -0500 After numerous calls to rehabilitation sites in Kentucky (the lists either provided old, disconnected phone numbers, or I never received a call back), I was able to contact a wonderful woman named Ruby who works at the Nature Station in Land Between the Lakes Kentucky. She will care for my little ones. I'm taking down the blue bird house and regrouping. I'll keep subscribed to the list to educate myself. I don't like the heartache this has caused me over these few years I have put up houses. However, one place that seemed to work really well, is a telephone pole that actually had a dusk to dawn light attached. I never had any problems with this location. Could it have been the oil that is used on these poles? Will be moving a house back to this location. Live and learn I guess. Thank you all so much for your encouragement and tips. I had never in my life fed a wild bird and it was a joy to me when they ate from my hand. As for the neighbors cat...BEWARE! Denise Wilkinson
Date: Mon, 3 Jun 2002 09:34:33 -0700 (PDT) Hi all, Last summer I notice these large nestboxes on the utility poles. There are 4 of them and they are spaced anywhere from 400 ft. to 800 ft. apart. They were like 10" or 12" tall and about 8" wide with this large maybe 2" hole, they were placed about 15 or 20 ft high, these are just guesses on the size I don't know the specifics. Some of the boxes had a red label on the front of them, I finally stopped and had my daughter to "please" go read the label for me and she come back telling me it was a Kestrel/Screech Owl nestbox and it was put there by PSO our electric company. These nestboxes are fairly new but there are others along this stretch of road and it is near a large lake. I have put my Eastern Bluebird(EABL) nestboxes on the utility poles in my pasture and hoped the utility company wouldn't care because I didn't ask. I'm hoping that if the Electric company itself is putting up nestboxes on there own utility poles then they shouldn't mind others doing the same. I wonder why a Utility company is suppling Nestboxes in the first place?? Is this sort of thing normal or has anyone else seen this?? Kerry in NE corner of Okla. Subject: RE: LARGE nestbox on Utility poles. Many times electric and other utility companies partnership with the local Audubon chapter, nature center, Department of Natural Resources or Wild Birds Unlimited to establish nesting box sites. Often, grants are applied for or boxes are donated. Many times this sort of thing can be done to help make monitoring boxes easier (the more partners- the more eyes and hands). Getting companies (that otherwise may not do the project themselves)
to participate in trails or nesting box projects or creating
habitats is a way to further the reach to people that may not
otherwise be touched by nature. Alicia Craig Visit a list of the wonderful organizations we support http://www.wbu.com/alliances/ Be a Citizen Scientist, visit
http://birds.cornell.edu/citsci/ ... From: "Bill Darnell" bdarnel3"at"bellsouth.net I am sure it is also to keep them from building nests where
they are not wanted, like on top of transformers, capacitor
banks, etc.! Bill TN Yes, here in NW Florida our company, Gulf Power, has installed about a dozen Osprey nesting platforms. Why? Probably good politics. Phil Berry, Gulf Breeze, Florida |
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