Three great tit families agree there’s no place like cone!
As unusual nesting sites go, it doesn’t get much stranger than this, or so we thought…
Not one, not two, but three great tit families have set up home inside three traffic cones at UK Power Networks’ rural overhead line training centre at Frant, near Tunbridge Wells.
Two of the cones are in the field where teams learn to build overhead power lines, with a third feathered family occupying a cone where rescues at height are practised.
Aaron Ashworth, a senior overhead line instructor at the firm, said: “Our training centre has cones marking out the supporting wires, for the overhead line training equipment. We noticed the parent birds flying in and out of the cones, feeding the babies, so we’ve hung notices on the cones to make sure they’re not disturbed by anyone during training courses.
“It’s a good place for them to nest because the cones are heavy, so predators can’t get in. I was initially worried the babies could get stuck inside and wouldn’t be able to fly up and out of the cone, so we contacted our environmental adviser for advice and discovered it’s not the first time birds have nested in traffic cones. We were assured the birds will work it out.
“The great tits seem to really like the traffic cones. There’s a small hole in the top and once inside there is a decent amount of space so they probably feel safe. We can hear the young birds when the parent comes back with the food, they get rather excited.”
Taking care not to disturb the nest, linesperson and keen birdwatcher Lee Garnham was thrilled to capture slow motion video of a parent bird entering with food in its beak.
Heather Patrick, environment adviser at UK Power Networks, said: “This is the second case I know of where great tits have nested under a road cone at our sites; the previous occasion was at Lawford in Essex. We strive to protect wildlife and now include a road cone in our environmental awareness videos for staff, as one of the unexpected places birds might nest.
“The birds deliberately use nest sites with small access holes to protect them from predators, like a hole in a tree, so the young should be okay to fly out when they’re ready and we would only remove the traffic cone if it became obvious they were struggling to get out.”
Published: 23/05/24
Not one, not two, but three great tit families have set up home inside three traffic cones at UK Power Networks’ rural overhead line training centre at Frant, near Tunbridge Wells.
Two of the cones are in the field where teams learn to build overhead power lines, with a third feathered family occupying a cone where rescues at height are practised.
Aaron Ashworth, a senior overhead line instructor at the firm, said: “Our training centre has cones marking out the supporting wires, for the overhead line training equipment. We noticed the parent birds flying in and out of the cones, feeding the babies, so we’ve hung notices on the cones to make sure they’re not disturbed by anyone during training courses.
“It’s a good place for them to nest because the cones are heavy, so predators can’t get in. I was initially worried the babies could get stuck inside and wouldn’t be able to fly up and out of the cone, so we contacted our environmental adviser for advice and discovered it’s not the first time birds have nested in traffic cones. We were assured the birds will work it out.
“The great tits seem to really like the traffic cones. There’s a small hole in the top and once inside there is a decent amount of space so they probably feel safe. We can hear the young birds when the parent comes back with the food, they get rather excited.”
Taking care not to disturb the nest, linesperson and keen birdwatcher Lee Garnham was thrilled to capture slow motion video of a parent bird entering with food in its beak.
Heather Patrick, environment adviser at UK Power Networks, said: “This is the second case I know of where great tits have nested under a road cone at our sites; the previous occasion was at Lawford in Essex. We strive to protect wildlife and now include a road cone in our environmental awareness videos for staff, as one of the unexpected places birds might nest.
“The birds deliberately use nest sites with small access holes to protect them from predators, like a hole in a tree, so the young should be okay to fly out when they’re ready and we would only remove the traffic cone if it became obvious they were struggling to get out.”
Published: 23/05/24