Do crows nest on utility poles near urban green areas?

Abstract

Crows sometimes nest on utility poles and their nests can cause electrical failures. In order to prevent such problems, electric power companies conduct patrols and remove nests. In this paper, using data provided by the Hakodate branch of Hokkaido Electric Power Co., Inc. (HHEPCO) for the number and distribution of crow nests removed from utility poles, we analyzed the relationship between crow nests on such poles and urban green areas. Crows were found to nest on utility poles far from urban green areas, indicating that allowing crows to nest in urban green areas may reduce the cost of removing crow nests from utility poles for electric power companies.