The number of removals of crows’ nests from utility poles has been increasing sharply in recent years, indicating the rising risk of power outages caused by such nest-building.

In Fukushima Prefecture, more than 1,600 nests were removed in each of the past three years, with the number going up every year.

This year through the end of March, 508 were removed — up by 104, or 26%, from the same period last year — and power outages caused by the nests have been reported.