--- Begin Message ---
- From: Larry R Lynch <birder6@xxxxxxxx>
- To: rwebb@xxxxxxxxxxxx, Heron329@xxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 7 Dec 2005 10:40:53 -0500
Hi Rick and Margaret -
I thought that the two of you might be interested in the attached note
about birds killed by wind turbines.
Larry
----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Rose Mary <c.aura@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: NRVBirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Wed, 7 Dec 2005 08:37:40 -0500
Subject: [NRV Birds] Fwd: [Vulture-Conservation] Physically burying the
evidence.
Dear Seth and Friends
I hope you will find this worth posting on the list serve.
This forward is not about NVR birds, but the birds of the world and one
of the many dangers birds are up against in our continuing need for
power. I found this compelling and thought that you might also. I am
certain that most of you are familiar with the some of the dangers
associated with wind power, but I have never seen them.
This site has many photos of the effects of wind turbines:
http://www.iberica2000.org/documents/EOLICA/PHOTOS/BIRDS_KILLED_BY_WINDFA
RMS/
We need to be aware,
Rose
Begin forwarded message:
From: mark duchamp <save.the.eagles@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: December 7, 2005 12:28:01 AM EST
To: raptor-conservation@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx,
vulture-conservation@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Cc: wind_turbines_birds@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, "UKbirdnet@xxxxxxxxxxxxx"
<ukbirdnet@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Raptor Biology
<RaptorBiology@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, euraptors@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx,
gypaetesbarbus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx,
wildlifeconservationdepartment@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [Vulture-Conservation] Physically burying the evidence.
Reply-To: Vulture-Conservation@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Stan,
This summary you just submitted reminds me of another low-mortality
abstract: that of the
Lekuona report. It turned out that the numbers were different from those
in the body
of the report by 2 orders of magnitude. Mortality as estimated by the
author, for one year,
was in fact of 409 griffon vultures, 24 eagles and other raptors, 650
bats and 6,000+ passerines.
This prompted me to analyse 3 other reports: I found that they too were
minimizing bird mortality.
www.iberica2000.org/Es/articulo.asp?Id=1223
That was in January 2003
Sadly, transparency has not improved since, on the contrary.
In Spain, bird carcasses are now being buried by windfarm employees, so
the
monitoring teams won't find them. Various bodies of griffon vultures
turned up at a windfarm
in Aragon when a fox partly enearthed them. But the 2 ornithologists who
found them
won't testify. They told their friends, though.
And I just came across this newspaper article in which a small ecological
association from
near the Strait of Gibraltar denounces the practice:
http://www.europasur.com/europasur/articulo.asp?idart=2073615&idcat=1401
So, apparently, it is also being done at Tarifa (Strait of Gibraltar).
FYI: Pictures of griffon vultures etc. killed by wind turbines (Navarre.
Tarifa, etc.):
www.iberica2000.org/documents/EOLICA/PHOTOS
Pictures of griffon vultures and eagles killed by wind turbines in
Aragon:
http://sekano.blogspot.com/2005/10/mortalidad-parques-eolicos.html
pictures # 16, 17, 18, 22, 15, 14, 23
Conclusion:
Deceit, cover up, and ornithologists silenced by their conflict of
interest:
that's the recipe for a biodiversity disaster, folks.
In Spain, we have around 16,000 pairs of griffon vultures.
From the Lekuona estimate of 409 for 368 turbines,
a straight extrapolation would yield around 10,000 vultures killed per
year. But not
everywhere in Spain do we find as many vultures
as in Navarre. So I think the toll is probably closer to 2,000 p.a.
But Spain is to double its number of turbines...
I don't know enough about vultures´ breeding rate, longevity, and
mortality to do
a population modelling. I let you work it out.
Egyptian and Monk vultures are not as abuncant. I haven't heard
of any kills yet. But if the practice is now to bury the carcasses, we
shall never find out,
shall we?
Mark
Mark Duchamp
save.the.eagles@xxxxxxxxx
www.iberica2000.org/Es/Articulo.asp?Id=1228
www.iberica2000.org/documents/EOLICA/PHOTOS
On 12/6/05, Stan Moore <stangabboon@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Journal of Applied Ecology
Volume 41 Issue 1 Page 72 - February 2004
doi:10.1111/j.1365-2664.2004.00876.x
Volume 41 Issue 1
Behavioural and environmental correlates of
soaring-bird mortality at on-shore wind turbines
Luis Barrios* and Alejandro Rodríguez?
Summary
1. Wind power plants represent a risk of bird
mortality, but the effects are still poorly
quantified. We measured bird mortality, analysed the
factors that led birds to fly close to turbines, and
proposed mitigation measures at two wind farms
installed in the Straits of Gibraltar, one of the most
important migration bottlenecks between Europe and
Africa.
2. Bird corpses were surveyed along turbine lines and
an associated power line to estimate mortality rates.
The behaviour of birds observed within 250 m of
turbines was also recorded as a putative indicator of
risk. The effects of location, weather and flight
behaviour on risk situations (passes within 5 m of
turbines) were analysed using generalized linear
modelling (GLM).
3. Mortality caused by turbines was higher than that
caused by the power line. Losses involved mainly
resident species, mostly griffon vultures Gyps fulvus
(0·15 individuals turbine1 year1) and common kestrels
Falco tinnunculus (0·19 individuals turbine1 year1).
Mortalities were not associated with either structural
attributes of wind farms or visibility.
4. Vulture collisions occurred in autumn?winter and
were aggregated at two turbine lines where risks of
collisions were greatest. The absence of thermals in
winter forced vultures to use slopes for lift, the
most likely mechanism influencing both their exposure
to turbines and mortality.
5. Kestrel deaths occurred during the annual peak of
abundance in summer. Carcasses were concentrated in
the open habitats around a single wind farm and risk
may have resulted from hunting habitat preferences.
6. Synthesis and applications. We conclude that bird
vulnerability and mortality at wind power facilities
reflect a combination of site-specific (wind?relief
interaction), species-specific and seasonal factors.
Despite the large number of migrating birds in the
study area, most follow routes that are displaced from
the facilities. Consequently, only a small fraction of
birds on migratory flights was actually exposed to
turbines. New wind installations must be preceded by
detailed behavioural observation of soaring birds as
well as careful mapping of migration routes.
Journal of Applied Ecology (2004) 41, 72?81
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Mark Duchamp
save.the.eagles@xxxxxxxxx
www.iberica2000.org/Es/Articulo.asp?Id=1228
www.iberica2000.org/documents/EOLICA/PHOTOS
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