[birdky] Fwd: [bcbirdclub] Birds killed in West Virginia
- From: <ss6400@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: Birdky <birdky@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 4 Nov 2011 14:25:02 -0500
INTERESTING ARTICLE FROM MY FRIEND IN VA.
STEVE SWEENEY
BOYD CO
> From: "Roger Mayhorn" <rmayhorn@xxxxxxxxxx>
> To: "BCBC Listserve" <bcbirdclub@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Subject: [bcbirdclub] Birds killed in West Virginia
> Date: Thu, 3 Nov 2011 00:07:06 -0400
>
> Some of you may have heard of the 500 + Blackpoll Warblers killed at the
> Laurel Mountain Wind Project in West Virginia a couple of weeks ago. Here is
> a statement from the American Bird Conservancy.
>
> Roger Mayhorn
> Compton Mt
>
>
>
>
> www.abcbirds.org
>
>
>
>
>
> MEDIA RELEASE
>
> Contact: Robert Johns, 202-234-7181 ext.210, bjohns@xxxxxxxxxxxx
>
>
>
>
>
> Massive Bird Kill at West Virginia Wind Farm Highlights National Issue
>
>
>
> Bird Group Says Wind Power Can still be Green, but only if Bird Smart
> Principles Are Implemented
>
>
>
> (Washington, D.C., October 28 2011) With the deaths of nearly 500 birds at
> the Laurel Mountain wind facility earlier this month, three of the four wind
> farms operating in West Virginia have now experienced large bird fatality
> events, according to American Bird Conservancy (ABC), the nation's leading
> bird conservation organization.
>
>
>
> "Wind energy has the potential to be a green energy source, but the
> industry still needs to embrace simple, bird-smart principles that would
> dramatically reduce incidents across the country, such as those that have
> occurred in West Virginia," said Kelly Fuller, ABC's Wind Campaign
> Coordinator.
>
>
>
> There were three critical circumstances that tragically aligned in each of
> the three West Virginia events to kill these birds. Each occurred during bird
> migration season, during low visibility weather conditions, and with the
> addition of a deadly triggering element - an artificial light source.
> Steady-burning lights have been shown to attract and disorient birds,
> particularly night-migrating songbirds that navigate by starlight, and
> especially during nights where visibility is low such as in fog or inclement
> weather. Circling birds collide with structures or each other, or drop to the
> ground from exhaustion.
>
>
>
> At the Laurel Mountain facility in the Allegheny Mountains, almost 500
> birds were reportedly killed after lights were left on at an electrical
> substation associated with the wind project. The deaths are said to have
> occurred not from collisions with the wind turbines themselves, but from a
> combination of collisions with the substation and apparent exhaustion as
> birds caught in the light's glare circled in mass confusion.
>
>
>
> On the evening of September 24 this year at the Mount Storm facility in the
> Allegheny Mountains, 59 birds and two bats were killed. Thirty of the dead
> birds were found near a single wind turbine that was reported to have had
> internal lighting left on overnight. This incident stands in stark contrast
> to industry assertions that just two birds per year are killed on average by
> each turbine. Data from Altamont Pass, California wind farms - the most
> studied in the nation - suggest that over 2,000 Golden Eagles alone have been
> killed there.
>
>
>
> On May 23, 2003 at the Mountaineer wind farm in the Allegheny Mountains, at
> least 33 birds were killed. Some of the deaths were attributed to collisions
> with wind turbines and some to collisions with a substation.
>
>
>
> "The good news is that it shouldn't be hard to make changes that will keep
> these sorts of unnecessary deaths from happening again, but it's disturbing
> that they happened at all. It has long been known that many birds navigate by
> the stars at night, that they normally fly lower during bad weather
> conditions, and that artificial light can draw them off course and lead to
> fatal collision events. That's why minimizing outdoor lighting at wind
> facilities is a well-known operating standard. And yet lights were left on at
> these sites resulting in these unfortunate deaths. This reinforces the need
> to have mandatory federal operational standards as opposed to the optional,
> voluntary guidelines that are currently under discussion," Fuller said.
>
>
>
> A fourth wind farm in West Virginia, the Beech Ridge Wind Energy Project in
> Greenbrier County, has not experienced large mortality events, likely because
> it is currently prohibited by a court order from operating during nighttime
> between April 1 and November 15.
>
>
>
> "Some West Virginia conservation groups have suggested that other wind
> farms in the state should shut down their wind turbines at certain times and
> seasons to protect birds. Given the recurring bird-kill problems, that idea
> needs to be seriously considered, at least during migration season on nights
> where low visibility is predicted. A wind farm in Texas is doing just that,
> so it is possible." said Fuller.
>
>
>
>
>
> American Bird Conservancy supports Bird-Smart Wind Power. For more
> information, visit www.abcbirds.org.
>
>
>
> American Bird Conservancy (ABC) is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit membership
> organization whose mission is to conserve native birds and their habitats
> throughout the Americas. ABC acts by safeguarding the rarest species,
> conserving and restoring habitats, and reducing threats, while building
> capacity in the bird conservation movement.
>
>
>
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