It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No, it’s a bird.
Across our 11-state footprint, our employees work every day to protect wildlife while ensuring safe, reliable power keeps flowing to our communities. Recently, when several birds of prey found themselves in risky situations, our employees swooped to the rescue.
Red Tail Rescue
In April, Brock Welker, a transmission construction representative, was deep into a rebuild project near Zanesville, OH, with plans to dismantle and rebuild several towers. But then, work screeched to a halt.
“I saw a red-tail hawk nesting along Structure 99 and 102,” said Welker. “We used drones to take a closer look and found two nests with eggs and chicks. That’s when I knew the project had to stop to help these babies find a safe home.”
Welker immediately reached out to Amy Toohey and Shannon Hemmerly in the environmental department for help. They coordinated with the Ohio Division of Wildlife, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and?Rebecca Jaramillo?from the Glen Helen Raptor Center, a non-profit organization that educates people about raptors and rehabilitates injured raptors with the goal of releasing them back into the wild.
“It was such a quick turnaround,” Toohey said. “I was pleasantly surprised how quickly all the agencies — from Glen Helen Raptor Center to the Ohio Fish and Wildlife — came together to help us save these baby birds. This isn’t just about the utility company; it’s about environmental respect and collaboration.”
The team undertook a careful retrieval process, managing to save the chicks and the eggs just days before they hatched.
The project resumed three days later. The new design of the structures aims to prevent future nesting, enhancing safety for the birds.
“We’re all committed to doing the right thing for these birds, and it’s inspiring to see everyone come together for a common goal,” Welker said.
Well Owl Be
Employees at AEP Texas’ Bessel Substation took action when they discovered an owl wandering around their facility. Nancy Hutton, an environmental coordinator consultant and Rolando Gonzalez, an employee at the substation, worked together to rescue the bird.
“I distracted the owl, who kept looking at me, while Rolando went around and came up behind the owl, collecting it?in the blanket, and then we put it?in a box I had brought with me,” Hutton?said.
The owl was then taken to the Texas SeaLife Center in Corpus Christi for rehabilitation.
“I think rescue stories like these capture the attention of our co-workers and hopefully make them more aware of activities around them, which hopefully leads to all of us becoming more environmentally conscious,” Hutton said.
According to a Facebook post from Texas Sealife Center, the young owl was being taken care of with a “buddy” and getting ready to spread his wings again.
