Last meal for an electrocuted Great Horned Owl found on a CEC power pole near Plainview Road.The owl pictured above electrocuted on the top of a power pole, still
clutching its last meal, made a fatal error recently when it perched on
a Central Electric Cooperative (CEC) power pole (#126867) near
Plainview Road, between Bend and Sisters. The pole is located in a
Wildlife Easement under the stewardship of Ron and Jolynn Lambert.
A
pole to perch on and eat his freshly caught gray squirrel is all mister
owl was interested in; whether it was in a wildlife easement, or
carrying 7,200 volts of electrical energy didn't matter. Little did
mister owl know that he was flirting with disaster. It wasn't until he
was careless, and touched two of the wires, that in a flash the awesome
electrical energy in the line ended his life.
"I see a lot of
that sort of thing happening to Great Horned Owls, especially in
spring," Jon Paxton, a CEC serviceman said, as he pried the owl off the
fuse block on the top of the pole.
Unfortunately that is an all
too common tragedy, but it is not the fault of CEC or other power
distribution companies. They spend a lot of time and money trying to
make poles safe for raptors. The bottom line is that the growing area
requires a great deal of electricity to pump water, keep homes warm,
allow families to cook meals and also power electronic devices and
lighting. Distribution of all that energy requires transmission lines
and poles to support them and it is unfortunate that occasionally an
owl, hawk or eagle runs afoul of the needs of Man. It is impossible to
check all the poles, but with your help reporting raptor
electrocutions, CEC and other power companies will eventually cure the
problem.
