LOCATION/TYPE

NEWS HOME

[ exact phrase in "" • results by date ]

[ Google-powered • results by relevance ]



Archive
RSS

Add NWW headlines to your site (click here)

Get weekly updates

WHAT TO DO
when your community is targeted

RSS

RSS feeds and more

Keep Wind Watch online and independent!

Donate via Paypal

Donate via Stripe

Selected Documents

All Documents

Research Links

Alerts

Press Releases

FAQs

Campaign Material

Photos & Graphics

Videos

Allied Groups

Wind Watch is a registered educational charity, founded in 2005.

News Watch Home

Blind as a vulture 

Credit:  Birdwatch, www.birdwatch.co.uk 14 March 2012 ~~

Vultures collide with wind turbines because they cannot see directly ahead, new research has shown.

Vultures, large raptors that generally live in warm climates, are at the top of the food chain and so their presence provides a good indication of a healthy environment. Thanks to strenuous conservation efforts their numbers in Europe have been increasing, but due to this and the introduction of new energy technology, they are now the frequent victims of collisions with wind turbines and power lines.

In Spain, which has a considerable programme of wind turbine installation, it is estimated that a minimum of 1,000 Griffon Vultures die each year from collisions with wind turbines. The reasons for these collisions have not been explained and are especially puzzling since vultures have some of the keenest eyes of all animals and they fly only by day.

The answer seems to be that when foraging for carrion, vultures are in fact blind in the direction of travel. They simply do not see the turbines no matter how large and conspicuous they may appear to us.

Emeritus Professor Graham Martin from the University of Birmingham’s School of Biosciences, who led the study into why vultures are so vulnerable said: “It is known that large raptors have the best visual acuity of any bird, so I wanted to investigate why so many are being killed in wind turbines collisions.

“We discovered that, when in flight, vultures are often blind in the direction of travel. This is because their visual field doesn’t allow them to see forwards when they are looking down, seeking carrion on the ground. We had thought that they would be keeping a look out ahead, but we have found that this isn’t so. They are more interested in what is on the ground and they assume that the world ahead will be clear of obstacles. These birds evolved their foraging strategies in a world in which obstacles did not intrude into their air space. By erecting large turbines, we have presented a challenge which these birds are not equipped to cope with.”

The researchers also discovered that the extensive blind area above the head, which projects forward when the birds look down, serves an important function in preventing the vultures’ eyes from imaging the sun. Imaging the sun can degrade the reception of image quality across the whole retina, which would reduce the bird’s ability to detect food on the ground below. “In effect vultures have sunshades. The enlarged brows, which give them their characteristic ‘angry’ look, help keep the sun out of their eyes, but they stop them seeing forward when they peer down’ explained Professor Martin.

The team also found that vultures’ wide lateral vision – seeing sideways – allows the birds to observe the behaviour of other vultures in the same airspace. Vultures are social feeders and the researchers think that they use their lateral vision to detect when other birds start to descend to carrion on the ground. This is why large numbers can suddenly collect at a carcass.

To mitigate against the large number of vulture collisions, the team recommends the development of attractive foraging habitats away from wind turbines. Professor Martin continued: “Wind farms and vultures need to be kept apart. Increasing the conspicuousness of man-made structures will achieve only marginal gains, as obstacles like wind turbines will often simply not be seen by the birds when foraging. Reductions in vulture collisions could be achieved by providing feeding stations, or ‘vulture restaurants’, away from these obstacles to stop the birds foraging near turbine installations.”

This research was carried out at the Hawk Conservancy Trust headquarters in Hampshire. The researchers studied Griffon Vultures, found throughout southern Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, and African White-backed Vultures, found throughout much of Africa south of the Sahara. There are 15 species of true vulture in Africa, Asia and Europe.

All vultures have a very slow rate of reproduction, so birds lost from the population take a long time to be replaced. They typically lay only one egg a year and do not start to breed until at least four years old.

Source:  Birdwatch, www.birdwatch.co.uk 14 March 2012

This article is the work of the source indicated. Any opinions expressed in it are not necessarily those of National Wind Watch.

The copyright of this article resides with the author or publisher indicated. As part of its noncommercial educational effort to present the environmental, social, scientific, and economic issues of large-scale wind power development to a global audience seeking such information, National Wind Watch endeavors to observe “fair use” as provided for in section 107 of U.S. Copyright Law and similar “fair dealing” provisions of the copyright laws of other nations. Send requests to excerpt, general inquiries, and comments via e-mail.

Wind Watch relies entirely
on User Funding
   Donate via Paypal
(via Paypal)
Donate via Stripe
(via Stripe)

Share:

e-mail X FB LI TG TG Share

Tag: Wildlife


News Watch Home

Get the Facts
CONTACT DONATE PRIVACY ABOUT SEARCH
© National Wind Watch, Inc.
Use of copyrighted material adheres to Fair Use.
"Wind Watch" is a registered trademark.

 Follow:

Wind Watch on X Wind Watch on Facebook

Wind Watch on Linked In Wind Watch on Mastodon