windfarms.where are the birds?

lucy78green · #1 (**permalink**) 07-09-2009, 05:15 PM

I have worked on wind-farms (as an archaeologist) and I am only there to monitor during the construction phase. They are not allowed to do any construction between April and August so that breeding birds aren't disturbed and an ecologist monitors the construction phase as well. We weren't told about collisions in relation to birds, but bats having their ear-drums ruptured (in USA) I think by the air turbulence???? (not sure exact cause) and therefore not being able to detect blades and flying into them. Hen harriers have been seen on some of the wind-farms I've been on and I've seen other sorts of birds up there (started a debate on id in wee brown bird thread, can't find it now). Not an expert, but maybe as ours are located in bogs there isn't as much diversity of wildlife there to disturb?

loripo · #2 (**permalink**) 07-09-2009, 05:56 PM

This is in the current New Scientist...
Circling turbines spell doom for vultures - environment - 06 September 2009 - New Scientist

I would have thought bogs were excellent areas for wildlife, but I'm sure someone will know about that for certain.

Johnny Redgate · #3 (**permalink**) 07-09-2009, 07:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by loripo

This is in the current New Scientist...
Circling turbines spell doom for vultures - environment - 06 September 2009 - New Scientist

I would have thought bogs were excellent areas for wildlife, but I'm sure someone will know about that for certain.

Yes they are indeed. EIAs for windfarms in the uplands/peatlands tend to be big documents. Have a look at the full version of the Lewis Wind EIA if you're interested. PS I did not work on the EIA for that proposal!

The Woodman · #4 (**permalink**) 08-09-2009, 09:10 AM

Johnny, I've been reading Chapter 12 for the last two hours and have been engrossed in the information. I've learnt so much from it.

I guess the survey effort reflects the importance of Lewis as a bird site but I have an uncomfortable feeling that this scheme is in the wrong place.

I'll continue to the end and then perhaps I'll re-read it - there's so much to absorb.

Bet the surveyors had a great time on Lewis with all those S1 species to watch all day.

Do you have a link to the updated fauna section by any chance?

Many thanks for the link and apologies to rossy for sidetracking the Scout Moor issue.

Johnny Redgate · #5 (**permalink**) 08-09-2009, 09:46 AM

Hi Woodman

Just have a scout around the Lewis Wind website for the info you want. This is all public domain stuff although you will probably find some sections marked as confidential because of the some of the species concerned. I expect some updated info will be on there.

As the original proposal has been rejected the decision makers would appear to have concerns about its location too.

I enjoyed my survey work on wind farm proposals despite their potential to disturb the areas concerned. Upland survey areas of up to 80 km sq were a challenge to say the least.

Johnny Redgate · #6 (**permalink**) 08-09-2009, 09:51 AM

Re the Scout Moor issue - I apologise for the diversion to Lewis also. I posted the link to the info because its a very detailed view of a wind farm EIA that I knew about and that is easy to get to. I hope it is of interest to others looking into wind farm issues. There will be many other wind farm EIAs out there on the web.

rossy · #7 (**permalink**) 08-09-2009, 09:55 AM

woodman no need to apologise to me as im grateful for you digging deeper into such an important issue as far as im concerned after all this about when were gone and hopefully other people up and down the country will have a platform to back any issues against these windfarms. facts are facts and its a crying shame if wildlife has to suffer for man. like i said i will monitor the area as nature is good at surprising us which i hope is the case thanks . rossy.

The Woodman · #8 (**permalink**) 08-09-2009, 03:24 PM

I've just dug out a couple of shots at the windfarm at Tarifa in Spain, as mentioned in the RSPB article.

I know it's not Britain, but things cannot get as bad as this, can they?

The images don't do justice to the situation, but imagine getting to a bird observatory in the middle of this lot on one of the best known migration routes north of the Straits of Gibralta.

Every ridge was lined with turbines and evidence of plenty more going up at the time. The first image shows some of the older ones with their stinky noisy gearboxes.

Johnny Redgate · #9 (**permalink**) 08-09-2009, 04:02 PM

Woodman, it looks from your picture to be a closely packed array of smallish turbines (15 - 20m tower?). I wonder why - old technology or thought to be below migration height? Just guessing. Not the sort of thing thats most often being proposed in the UK at present. Fewer, more widely spaced but much bigger turbines (to 100m towers) seem the norm.

The Woodman · #10 (**permalink**) 08-09-2009, 05:44 PM

Yes, the closer image is of smaller, older turbines and from the amount of turbine heads in the maintenance yard and people working on them, I think they're high maintenance too. They appear to be about twenty five years old but thats a guesstimate. Perhaps the tower structure technology wasn't available then or it was cheaper to use off the shelf electricity pylons!

I would doubt that bird migration came into the equation when these were erected but I could be wrong.

Could it be that those situated near the coast or without any landmass above their horizon don't have to be so tall?

I had to resize the distant image and if you can enlarge that one, you can see many taller modern turbines.

You're right, from memory they are all shorter than those I'm familiar with in Cumbria and North Lancs. The group just to the west of the M6 at J37 are very tall, they've a small hill between them and the horizon and probably need to be tall to catch the prevailing SW wind.

excoriate · #11 (**permalink**) 10-09-2009, 09:24 PM

That windfarm in Spain is horrendous, bird mincer.

I'm pretty sure theres been an effort to rip out the smaller turbines and replace them with fewer, larger turbines.

As for the birds disappearing, an earlier poster suggested it was because of the land take up of the farm. For the area of the wind farm, only about 1% of the area is actually utilised for the turbine bases, tracks and whatever else, so its unlikely to be habitat loss. In fact, most developers will have a habitat management plan in place to not only protect the ecology, but to actively improve it.

I'd be pretty worried if it was the windfarm that was the cause of the alarming drop off in numbers, but I also take it with a pinch of salt.

I'm a bit of a windy, been on loads of sites. Moors always seemed really bleak places, hardly seen any birds on them. However, up at Whitelees theres the usual Crows, Magpies!, Merlins and Buzzards.

Like all things around us, just because theres one noticable effect doesn't mean its the cause. There may be other factors invoved.

loripo · #12 (**permalink**) 10-09-2009, 09:40 PM

Take a look at this map...
Untitled Document

Try the different options ie Current , proposed etc. I had no idea that there were so many.
Try clicking on all one after the other...

excoriate · #13 (**permalink**) 10-09-2009, 09:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by loripo

Take a look at this map...
Untitled Document

Try the different options ie Current , proposed etc. I had no idea that there were so many.

There have to be?
Having them spread around the country means that if its not windy in one place, it'll be windy in another.

Its pretty sensible really.

Most of the windfarms will be small ones too, feeding right into distribution networks for nearby towns etc.