Deaths of birds and bats from wind turbines increase during seasonal migrations. An article about it was published on PLoS ONE.
Although the link between wind turbines and flying animal deaths was previously known, this study looked at data from 248 wind turbines in the United States; That’s one-third of the country’s total. Because of its wide coverage, scientists planned to identify patterns in this process.
John Lloyd and colleagues calculated the number of birds found dead in the turbine area between 2009 and 2021. It turned out that the observers only found 3,789 birds and 10,291 bats during the specified period, while only considering the cases whose dates are known with certainty.
The models created based on these data showed that the seasonal mortality pattern varies according to the region. Most U.S. windmills are found in the prairies and plains of the central and western states, where many bird species live year-round and are at constant risk of collision. In contrast, forest birds are only affected by these turbines during their long-distance migration and have two death peaks corresponding to their spring and autumn migrations. Regardless of ecoregion, bat deaths peak in late summer and fall, with increasing numbers of bat deaths occurring between mid-June and mid-November.
The authors hope their work will optimize the placement of wind power generators in the country to minimize damage to wildlife.
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