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Wind Power News: Wildlife
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch in its noncommercial educational effort to help keep readers informed about developments related to industrial wind energy. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of National Wind Watch. They are the products of and owned by the organizations or individuals noted and are shared here according to “fair use” and “fair dealing” provisions of copyright law.
Ancient reindeer migration routes disrupted by roads, dams – and now wind farms
Reindeer, or caribou as they’re known in North America, are impressive travellers. Herds made up of many thousands of animals can cover 5,000km each year in the far north of Europe, Siberia and Canada. This is one of the longest land migrations on Earth – but an ongoing transformation of the Arctic landscape threatens to break it up. Roads, railways, mines, dams and tourist activities, such as snowmobile and husky trails, have disrupted the well-worn routes that reindeer follow each . . . Complete story »
Golden eagle killed by wind turbine strike on Scottish territory
A tagged golden eagle has been killed by a wind turbine blade, according to an investigation. The body of the bird of prey, called Sparky, was discovered metres from a turbine at a wind farm in Galloway earlier this year. An investigation into the animal’s death has confirmed the bird’s fatal injuries were “typical of those associated with a wind turbine strike”, according to the Veterinary Investigation Centre at Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) in Dumfries. I walked through ‘wind farm . . . Complete story »
Golden eagle dies ‘after flying into wind turbine’
A golden eagle has died after flying into a wind turbine in Dumfries and Galloway, a conservation group has said. Three-year-old male Sparky, which was fledged from a nest by the South of Scotland Golden Eagle Project, was found 15 metres (49ft) from a turbine base at the Windy Rig wind farm in August. One of its wings had been detached. Project leaders say tests carried out on the bird showed its fatal injuries were “typical of those associated with . . . Complete story »
UW researchers study the relationship between insects and wind turbines
For some time, scientists have been sounding the alarm on the decline of various insect species due to changes in land use and how those shifts will be exacerbated by climate change. However, insects are often an afterthought in the discussion of conservation issues related to wind energy infrastructure. A recent University of Wyoming graduate led a study that looked at the current knowledge in the relationship between wind turbines and insects – an area of research about which little is . . . Complete story »
Embattled Vineyard Wind project may face Supreme Court scrutiny over whale impact
An offshore wind farm that scattered debris into the Atlantic Ocean this summer is now at the center of a high-stakes legal battle that could be heading to the U.S. Supreme Court. A group of Nantucket residents with the organization ACK for Whales is challenging the federal government’s approval of the Vineyard Wind project, arguing it threatens the survival of the endangered North Atlantic right whale. “We are optimistic that the Supreme Court will grant review of the important issue . . . Complete story »
Experts say Quebec wind turbine project threatens caribou habitat
The developers of a project to install wind turbines in a habitat that’s home to a vulnerable caribou herd in central Quebec say they intend to proceed, despite reservations from provincial and federal experts. Renewable energy company Boralex is partnering with Hydro-Québec and Energir on the project in the Charlevoix region, which would see the installation of 68 wind turbines. Seventeen of the turbines would be on land set aside by the province for a small and vulnerable herd of . . . Complete story »
Quand des éoliennes tuent — When wind turbines kill
[A short-toed snake eagle (circaète Jean-le-Blanc; a protected species in France) was found dead at the foot of a wind generator in the Freycenet-la-Tour park on May 22. A herpetologist and photographer working nearby heard a big “Poc” and turned to see the bird falling. “The collision between the bird and the turbine blade was beyond doubt.” They took to bird to the League for the Protection of Birds. The autopsy found that the raptor was in good health before . . . Complete story »
Link between offshore wind survey activity and spike in whale deaths
For the best part of half a century, a 41-foot humpback whale named Luna swam up and down the East Coast. Then on Jan. 30, 2023, Luna washed up dead on Long Island, New York. He was the tenth whale to strand on beaches in New York and New Jersey in nine weeks. Environmentalists, politicians and ordinary citizens loudly wondered if the construction of offshore wind turbines was killing them. Apostolos Gerasoulis, a Rutgers professor emeritus of computer science who . . . Complete story »
Tod am Windrad: Seeadler stürzt zu Boden und stirbt
[Sea eagle killed by wind turbine] Karl-Heinz Seedorf kann den traurigen Anblick kaum noch ertragen. Nachdem er vor ein paar Wochen einen toten Rotmilan vom Feld weggetragen hatte, trug der Uckermärker in dieser Woche erneut einen stolzen Seeadler bei Seite. Der riesige Vogel starb in der Nähe seines Heimatortes Blankenburg auf einem großen Windfeld. “Gekillt von den Rotorblättern”, ist der Vorsitzende des Jagdverbandes überzeugt: Der Flügel ist zerschmettert.” Auch über diesen Fund hat er die zuständigen Behörden informiert. “Ein Mitarbeiter . . . Complete story »
Vier Storchenjunge verlieren durch Unfall ihren Vater
[The blades of a wind turbine in Seelze-Dedensen have proved fatal for a stork father. One of the blades caught the legs of the stork flying past, who then died in agony. Because the stork mother is unable to raise four chicks on her own, two of them were taken to the wildlife and species protection station in Sachsenhagen.] Die Flügel eines Windrades in Seelze-Dedensen sind für einen Storchenvater zum Verhängnis geworden. Einer der Flügel erwischte die Beine des vorbeifliegenden . . . Complete story »
