Osprey mortality at wind farms

SPREY MORTALITY AT WIND FARMS

The following is only the tip of the iceberg.
Very few wind farms are being monitored for bird deaths.
Besides, scavengers and wind farm employees cause many carcasses to disappear.


– Seven ospreys reported killed in Germany, from 2001 to date.
European record maintained by Tobias Dürr, of the Brandenburg State Wildlife Department.
http://www.mugv.brandenburg.de/cms/detail.php/bb2.c.451792.de

– Five ospreys reported killed in Spain, from 2001 to date.
European record maintained by Tobias Dürr, of the Brandenburg State Wildlife Department.
http://www.mugv.brandenburg.de/cms/detail.php/bb2.c.451792.de

– One osprey reported killed, Scotland, 2011.
Reported by ornithologist Roy Dennis, and published in the European record maintained by Tobias Dürr, of the Brandenburg State Wildlife Department.
http://www.mugv.brandenburg.de/cms/detail.php/bb2.c.451792.de

– Two ospreys reported killed in New Jersey, at the ACUA wind power facility, 2009.
“Three raptors (two Ospreys and one Peregrine Falcon) are known to have been killed at the five wind turbine array located in the wetlands near Atlantic City after one year of monitoring as a result of colliding with turbines (Mizrahi et al. 2008).” Large Scale Wind Turbine Siting Map Report – NJ Department of Environmental Protection. September 8, 2009.
http://www.nj.gov/dep/cmp/windreport090908f.pdf

– Three ospreys reported killed in Minnesota, 2003.
“Three ospreys were killed when they flew into the blades of a wind turbine near their nest.”
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Home > Publications > Minnesota Conservation Volunteer > Articles > 2003 > March – April > Vanessa Greene, wildlife technician
http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/volunteer/marapr03/osprey.html

– Four ospreys reported killed in New Jersey, at the ACUA wind power facility, 2007-2009 – i.e. 2 more since other report above. “This is the fourth Osprey mortality at the facility and the third encountered or reported since our study began in August 2007.”
Post-Construction Wildlife Monitoring at The Atlantic City Utilities Authority- Jersey Atlantic Wind Power Facility.
http://www.ceoe.udel.edu/lewesturbine/documents/acua_quarterlyreport_fall09.pdf

– One osprey reported killed in Ontario, on Wolfe island, 2010.
“Seven red-tailed hawks, one osprey, one northern harrier and one turkey vulture comprised the group of 10 raptors killed by the giant blades.” – Environment Canada – Comments on Wolfe Island Post-Construction Monitoring Report, reported by Mike Norris, The Whig Standard. http://www.thewhig.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2946372&archive=true

– One osprey reported killed in Massachussets, at Buzzards Bay, 2007.
“A study in 2006-2007 at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy in Buzzards Bay to determine the effect of the turbine on plovers, found no plovers killed and only four dead birds in the search area. Of those, an osprey was identified as having been killed by the turbine and possibly a laughing gull.” http://www.telegram.com/article/20110815/NEWS/108159945/0/NEWS07

– One or two ospreys reported killed on Thursday Island, Australia.
Personal comment, Keith Platt, 2003. “Two or three years ago (I’m a bit vague on dates sometimes) I was filming on Thursday Island for an ABC doco on Torres Strait… one of the Tesltra technicians told us about an osprey killed by one of the turbine blades. I can’t recall if he said two had died.
[email protected]

– One osprey reported killed, Japan, 2007.
“The society (Wild Bird Society of Japan) has reported that six endangered white-tailed sea eagles have been killed in collisions with wind turbines in Hokkaido since 2004, and a misago osprey, a fish-eating hawk that is also endangered, was found dead from a collision in Goto, Nagasaki Prefecture.” http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200701040112.html