{"id":330875,"date":"2024-06-02T07:48:51","date_gmt":"2024-06-02T05:48:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=330875"},"modified":"2024-06-02T07:48:53","modified_gmt":"2024-06-02T05:48:53","slug":"how-many-birds-do-wind-farms-kill-pro-wind-concern","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=330875","title":{"rendered":"\u201cHow Many Birds Do Wind Farms Kill?\u201d (pro-wind concern)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Master Resource<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Robert Bradley Jr.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201c[Hannah] Ritchie ends with suggestions for better results for wind\u2019s avian mortality problem, including \u2018Turn off wind turbines at very low speeds when bats are around \u2026 Don\u2019t put wind farms in high-risk areas for birds and bats \u2026 Paint the turbines Black \u2026 Play alert noises to bats and birds to deter them.\u2019 But \u2026 these things limit wind siting, increase costs, and\/or annoy local neighbors.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A social media post<\/a> by Hannah Ritchie<\/a> (sustainability researcher, University of Oxford) on industrial wind power is worth revisiting. She works within the climate alarm\/forced energy transformation narrative (\u201cBird species are under threat from climate change\u201d) but considers the question:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

It would be worrying, then, if a move to low-carbon energy increased<\/em> pressures on bird populations. That\u2019s a common concern as countries move to wind power.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

After noting that \u201ccats, buildings, and cars kill far more birds than wind power,\u201d and windows kill more birds than wind turbines, she gets to the real question:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wind power is a threat to particular types<\/em> of birds, particularly birds of prey<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s not just the total amount of birds that are killed that matters, but what types. If a particular species of bird is disproportionately affected it could have real impacts on population dynamics and risk of extinction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A study by Chris Thaxter and colleagues (2017)<\/a> looked at the collision rates of different bird species from a large literature review. The documented rates of collisions for different groups are shown in the chart below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re like me, you will have no idea what most of these groups actually mean. So I\u2019ve translated a few of the most impacted orders:<\/p>\n\n\n\n