When birds make themselves at home in cell towers, it poses a serious threat to themselves and technicians
South African telecommunications operator MTN announced plans to install 100 boxes on cell towers in Johannesburg to house barn owls, which have made themselves at home in these structures — at best delaying infrastructure maintenance, and at worst, endangering themselves and tower climbers.
The #OwlNetwork project, launched in partnership with the Owl Rescue Centre, is focused on providing a safer alternative in the form of durable, long-lasting nesting boxes that will not interfere with the network performance or tower technicians, hopefully, preserving the owls and decreasing the risk of injury to workers.
“MTN has a responsibility to protect the environment so that our customers and communities can live in harmony with their surroundings,” said Jacqui O’Sullivan, MTN SA’s executive for corporate affairs, adding that the decision was made once it became clear that the owls were increasingly using the company’s towers to nest.
Danelle Murray, the co-founder and director of Owl Rescue Centre, explained that birds will use the top of towers and and the inside floor areas for their nests.
“This delays maintenance work on towers as eggs and young birds need to be removed before technicians can access the tower cables and equipment. Owl houses provide a safe nesting site, which in turn will help grow the owl population in suburbs, creating a natural solution to rodent control,” she added. “We thank MTN for hearing the call for corporates to do more to help protect, rehabilitate and grow the populations of these wonderful — but increasingly threatened — species. It is imperative nature and animals are protected in our interconnected and interdependent existence.”
Birds nesting in cell towers is a problem that extends beyond barn owls and beyond South Africa, and one that appears to be increasing in scale as more infrastructure goes up and some bird populations continue to rise. For example, ospreys, a large bird of prey commonly found around major coastal estuaries and salt marshes in the western U.S., also have a habit of building nests in towers. Furthermore, according to the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, the osprey population is on an upswing and there are likely more of these birds than ever before.
As a 2019 edition of Tower Times pointed out, nesting birds, many of which are large and understandably territorial, can pose a serious threat to tower climbers. Adult horned owls, for instance, stated the article, are infamous for attacking tower climbers.
“Adult owls are heavily built, having an average weight over three pounds and a wingspan of four feet,” continued the article. “They are known to attack the heads of people approaching nests and stories of them locking their powerful talons onto the backs of climbers are renowned.”
