New study pinpoints birds of prey as hardest hit by wind farms. [View all]

[elleng]

A new study has revealed which bird and bat species are most at risk of collision with wind turbines, with birds of prey and migratory birds coming top of the list. This research is the first to take a global view of the problem, and pinpoints some possible solutions to allow birds, bats and wind turbines to share the skies with less conflict.

For the first time, a global view of the situation has been revealed in a recent study published in Proceedings Of The Royal Society B, which has modelled rates of collision for various bird and bat species in relation to factors such as their migratory behaviour and ecology, as well as wind turbine height and capacity. This important work was led by the BTO and supported by BirdLife International, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, the United Nations Environment’s World Conservation Monitoring Centre, and the University of Cambridge.

High collision rates in raptors could be due to their visual adaptions for hunting: they have a large blind spot directly in front of them.'>>>

http://www.birdlife.org/worldwide/news/new-study-pinpoints-birds-prey-hardest-hit-wind-farms#sthash.GPoIyAR5.gbpl