Horn, Jason; Arnett, Edward; and Kunz, Thomas
The video clips on this site [2] are presented to support a study that appears in the Journal of Wildlife Management. This study deals with the recent finding that forest-dwelling bats are often found dead beneath operating wind turbines at wind energy facilities. We used thermal infrared video cameras to record the flight behavior of bats at night near these turbines in an attempt to understand the cause of these fatalities. We encourage you to read the study [1] so that you will have a context as you view the clips.
A bat investigates and lands on a still blade.
Bats chase blade tips (1) or are possibly caught in tip vortices.
Height example: A bat within the area swept by moving turbine blades. An insect also flies low and close to the camera.
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/documents/infrared-video-clips-of-bats-interacting-with-wind-turbines/
URLs in this post:
[1] Horn et al. 2008 Journal of Wildlife Management 72:1 123-132: http://www.wind-watch.org/documents/behavioral-responses-of-bats-to-operating-wind-turbines/
[2] on this site: https://docs.wind-watch.org/HornEtAl-videos_files/
[3] Investigating the Turbine Tower and Nacelle: #1
[4] Investigating and Chasing Turbine Blades: #2
[5] Bat Avoidance Behavior: #3
[6] Contact with Blades: #4
[7] Birds: #5
[8] Multiple Bats: #6
[9] Height Reference: #7
[10] Image: https://docs.wind-watch.org/HornEtAl-videos_files/bat-wind-turbine-video-06.mp4
[11] Image: https://docs.wind-watch.org/HornEtAl-videos_files/bat-wind-turbine-video-07.mp4