After fireworks and wind chimes failed to scare migratory birds from nesting on top of local telephone poles, a power company has decided to spend 720,500 yuan (US$86,807) to make its high voltage wires a less attractive place to live.

　　With more parks and forests being built around the city's suburbs, a growing number of birds are migrating to Shanghai. The nests they build on telephone poles are causing headaches for power companies, however, as they often set off circuit breakers causing blackouts.

　　"We have found 11 newly built nests on our poles this year, which endanger the safe operation of our grid facilities," said Yao Jianxin, an engineer with Baoshan Electric Power Supply Co.

　　The problem emerged last spring, when nests caused two short circuits along the company's high-voltage power lines.

　　"If the circuit breaker on the poles switches off, thousands of residents' daily life will be affected," said Yao.

　　Yao said the biggest offenders are azure-winged magpies, which do most of their nesting in March and April. His company found 46 magpie nests on power poles in Baoshan District last year.

　　The problem is at its worst in the Fengtang area of Baoshan, which is home to various forests and small ponds, making it an ideal habitat for birds to live.

　　The birds are also attracting other problems to the area, said Yao.

　　"More snakes have come to the area. They sometimes climb up the poles to catch the birds," said Yao, adding that snakes recently caused two more circuit breakers to switch off.

　　Engineers tried to scare the birds away with fireworks and wind chimes, but that didn't work.

　　So the company has decided to lower the level of power lines, so they are farther from the top of the poles, making it more difficult for the birds to build a nest.

　　Even if the birds do nest on the poles, it will be much more difficult for them to set off a power breaker, said Yao.