Turning Off the Kill Switch: How Mongolia Made Its Power Grid Safer for Raptors. With Dr Andrew Dixon

For years an unseen hazard hung over the steppe. Standard distribution poles were silently killing thousands of raptors each year, including Saker Falcons. In this episode, Dr Andrew Dixon explains how leadership from Abu Dhabi, later anchored by the Mohamed bin Zayed Raptor Conservation Fund, helped Mongolia confront the crisis and retrofit 27,000 power poles across the country. The result is one of the standout conservation wins of our time and a practical blueprint any nation can adopt.

Andrew takes us inside the work from first grim counts to winter field trials, and into the coalition of utilities, engineers, regulators, herder communities, and researchers that made bird-safe design the norm. We look at outcomes that matter, from dramatic reductions in electrocution to procurement standards that lock in safer builds for the future.

In this episode you’ll hear:
 • What makes a typical pole dangerous to perching raptors, in simple terms
 • Which retrofits proved most effective and affordable in real-world conditions
 • How teams scaled to 27,000 poles without losing momentum
 • The measurements that show success, including carcass searches, telemetry, and nest outcomes
 • How policy and procurement now require bird-safe construction
 • Why this pays for utilities through fewer outages, lower incident costs, and stronger public trust
 • A clear path for countries in Africa, Asia, and beyond that want to act now

This is the second installment in our three-part Talons of Hope series with Dr Andrew Dixon and the final podcast of 2025.

Guest
 Dr Andrew Dixon, Science and Conservation Director, MBZRCF, recipient of the Partners for Raptors Lifetime Achievement Award.

Call to action
 Follow Talons of Hope, share this episode with colleagues in energy and conservation, and ask your utility to adopt bird-safe standards in procurement and maintenance plans.