"Martin Brown" wrote in message
...
On 18/12/2020 13:15, NY wrote:
"Andrew" wrote in message
...
If they were migrating geese then there could be
some free roasted xmas dinners :-).

Perhaps those 11Kv lines are a bit too 'saggy' though ?.
How would they stay apart during high winds, which
are expected in that part of the country ?..

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotla...ntral-55334891

That was my thought: if the starlings landing and taking off stretch and
swing the wires so much that they touch, even in cold weather when the
heat hasn't made them expand, then a gale could do the same. The wires
need to be tightened.

It was a hell of a lot of starlings on each wire. Individually they may
not weigh much but on those numbers and all acting in synchrony they must
be well beyond normal design tolerances.

If "synchronous swallows" (!) are more than a once-in-a-lifetime event, then
the design tolerance of the wire tautness and/or wire spacing must be set so
doesn't cause a problem.

Our local mains in the village is three phase aluminium core wrapped
around a steel hawser. It proved strong enough to support most of the
weight of a tree. The recoil when the tree was cut free was spectacular!

All the poles in the village are now banana shaped with "do not climb"
warning stickers on them.

What are the poles made of? For them to be "banana shaped", they must have
bent without breaking, which suggests metal rather than the wooden poles
that are normal for HV and 240 V overhead wires.