Chilli is working on the monitoring of the railway lines in Austria in cooperation with our partners the Austrian Federal Railways and BirdLife Austria. 

Chilli is 10 years old and was born in Slovakia, and shortly after found a home in Austria. He is working for 5 years as a part of the dog unit and together with his owner Stefan he is searching for the cadavers e.g. along the railway/power lines and also assists in cases of bird crimes (illegal activities such as poisoning or shooting). In April, another round of successful monitoring of the railway lines has been held, and the next round is planned for September. Monitoring with the dog units has proven to be a very effective method of finding carcasses that are difficult to track or recognize by humans.

In March, a joint team of the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds (BSPB) and Electrodistribution Grid West EAD successfully installed 27 more artificial nest boxes for the endangered Red-footed Falcon (Falco vespertinus). This brings the total number of newly installed houses for the species in Bulgaria to 50.

The Red-footed Falcon is a small falcon whose population has declined sharply over the last twenty years in Bulgaria, reaching the critical threshold of only a few known pairs in 2022. This is the reason why the species is listed in the Red-list of threatened species of Bulgaria in the category "Critically Endangered", and in view of its declining numbers in Europe - to be part of the World Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

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The operator of the distribution system in Croatia, HEP DSO, is installing bird flight diverters on the 35 kV powerline Bilje - Kneževi Vinogradi. The diverters are installed using a drone that can install two diverters with one charge. They are placed in such a way that the drone is positioned above the protective rope and the diverter clip is lowered under the rope and by a sudden lift, it hooks the clip to the rope, which is then closed. With this activity, more than 13 km of powerlines will be safer for birds and the risk of birds colliding with powerlines will be reduced.

In Croatia, on February 21, three artificial aluminum nest boxes for the Saker Falcon were installed in cooperation with the distribution system operator HEP DSO on a section of the 35 kV powerline. The Saker Falcon is a strictly protected species in the Republic of Croatia, whose breeding population is critically endangered. It is estimated that only 3 to 5 pairs nest in Croatia. As part of the LIFE Danube Free Sky project, this activity increased the chances of its nesting again in the wider area of the Kopački rit Nature Park. Next to the nest boxes, video surveillance systems have been installed. Cameras with a motion sensor and solar power will give a constant insight into the activities in the nests without the need to visit them. We are happy that one nest was already visited by male Common kestrel not even 24 hours after it was installed.