November 16, 2010
Australia

Deaths of rare eagles rises

ANDREW DARBY, The Age, www.theage.com.au 17 November 2010

The number of eagles killed by turbine blades at one of Australia’s largest wind farms is climbing, with a rare juvenile wedge-tailed eagle the 22nd to die at Woolnorth in Tasmania’s north-west.

The juvenile eagle was the only wedge-tailed bird from the critically endangered Tasmanian sub-species to successfully fledge locally last season, according to Tasmanian Greens MP Paul O’Halloran.

”We must do all that we can to avoid the loss of this critically endangered species from the entire region,” Mr O’Halloran said.

Deaths of wedge-tailed and sea eagles began to rise at Woolnorth after operations began in 2003.

The rising number led to wind farm operator, Roaring 40s, testing bird-scaring devices and halting some of the farm’s 62 turbines in wind conditions judged more risky for the birds.

Tasmanian Environment Minister David O’Byrne said that wind farms made up only a small proportion of overall eagle deaths in the state, compared to shooting, trapping, and collisions with electrical and fencing wires.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2010/11/16/deaths-of-rare-eagles-rises/