She’s not Dr. Dolittle, but Ariel Corley seems to have a way with the birds.

Ariel is an Environmental Specialist Staff at Oncor and also the company’s in-house avian expert. “When I say I’m the bird lady,” she jokes, “they instantly know who I am.”             

Her special rapport with her feathered friends was evident the first time she got the call to remove a large bird from an Oncor facility. It’s a task that’s a regular part of her job.

In this case, a young, injured great horned owl had flown into a Fort Worth substation and it wasn’t leaving. “The whole ride there, I was pretty anxious and nervous because it was my first time picking up a large raptor,” Ariel said. “And they have large talons and large beaks.”

Her hands sheathed in long Kevlar gloves, Ariel gradually eased up to the bird. “I expected it to be thrashing around and very angry, but when I got up close to it, it just let me calmly put it into the box,” she said. “I feel like it kind of knew I was there to help.”

Ariel’s fondness for birds (and most other animals) started as a child, she says. In the car, her mom would point out various species of birds to her. “She would say, ‘Oh, that’s a scissortail flycatcher. That’s a turkey vulture.’ Stuff like that,” Ariel said.

In her job, Ariel also works on storm water issues, pollution prevention plans and chemical inventory for Oncor, but she’s best known for her avian duties.

Ariel often gives an avian training class to Oncor transmission and distribution employees -- those who are most likely to come across birds in their work.

Oncor’s transmission towers, power poles and storage structures attract birds of all sizes. Their nests and droppings can create hazards for the birds and Oncor structures. Protected species, like raptors and migratory birds, are a special concern.

“Anytime we’re involved with removing nests, I’m first in line for bird activity,” she said. “Once we remove the nest, we always check for eggs and chicks.” If there are, she takes the eggs and chicks to the Kathy Rogers Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Hutchins, Texas.

Ariel’s job has taken her to west Texas to remove red-tailed hawk eggs from a power pole and owl chicks off a large transmission tower. Recently, she oversaw the removal of a monk parrot nest some 3 to 4 feet wide that was wedged between an electrical transformer and a power pole in Irving.

She started at Oncor as an intern through the Mickey Leland Environmental internship program while a student at the University of Texas in Austin.

“I’ve been pleasantly surprised working at Oncor,” she said. “I really like this job. One, because I don’t have to be at a desk all the time. That’s pretty big to me. Also, because it’s a real sense of family.”