Wind farm ecologist defends bird safety

ABC News

April 24, 2012

Click here for the article.

An ecologist says there is no evidence wind farms are threatening the future of native bird populations.

A dead wedge-tailed eagle has been found not far from the base of a wind turbine at the Waterloo wind farm in the mid-north of South Australia.

Dr Cindy Hull, who works for renewable energy producer Hydro Tasmania, says some birds fly into blades but wind farms do not affect habitats or migration patterns.

"There's been a lot of work trying to assess whether it's impacting on the fate of the species and it isn't," she said.

"The wind industry is actually the only electricity generators that monitor their impact on wildlife, no-one else does.

"So just because nothing's been reported from the other types of electricity generation, doesn't mean impacts aren't occurring, they're just not being measured."

Environmental consultant Travis How of consultancy company EBS Ecology says there are wedge-tailed eagles and peregrine falcons at the proposed Stony Gap wind farm site, south of Burra.

"We've worked with TRUenergy to then design infrastructure around that so potential habitat and the known populations aren't impacted upon at all," he said.

Bird expert threatens ducks

Here's an interesting piece of irony.  Dr. Scott Petrie was featured in a CBC article "Wind turbines threaten swans, says bird expert", where the article states:


Dr. Scott Petrie said building industrial wind farms in Grand Bend, Ont., will scare the birds from their annual migration stop.
He said the province isn't considering how the 250 turbines proposed for the area will affect wildlife.

He is quoted as saying the same thing in this article almost seven years ago when the Erie Shores project was in the planning stages:

E.T. (Ted) Whitworth, Councilor Ward 1 of Norfolk County in attendance at the function commented on recent objections put forth by biologist Dr. Scott Petrie from the Long Point Waterfowl and Wetland Research Fund and representatives from Bird Studies Canada to wind turbines in Norfolk. Dr. Petrie said at a recent Norfolk County Council meeting that, in his opinion, wind turbines in the Messiah’s Corners area would alter the path of tundra swans that use the area as a staging (feeding) area on their migratory route. Councilor Whitworth said, “I’ve lived here all my life and never seen a dead swan . . . the Bird Studies Canada building that’s a 3 story, 100’ long, glass walled giant would kill more birds than a wind turbine.”

Two years after construction, there have been no swan injuries at the Erie Shores project.  In fact, a report by ornithologist Dr. James Ross, showed a thriving bird population.

Apparently, Dr. Petrie is an avid hunter (he even lists "hunter" on his resumé) and was featured in a segment of Canada in the Rough.

Thomas will be joined on today's hunt by Tim Brandt of Federal Premium Ammunition, with them will also be internationally acclaimed waterfowl biologist Scott Petrie. Scott heads up "Long Point Waterfowl Research", he and his group have significantly contributed to the health and future of waterfowl and waterfowling, not just in Long Point but throughout North America. Our Ontario duck hunting adventure begins with a wonderful public land hunt at Long Point with Thousands of ducks on the water and in the air, and winds up at the historic "Turkey Point Company" hunt club, as we take part in a traditional wetlands duck hunt with "Ducks Unlimited Canada" past president "Dr. Duncan Sinclair". 

Renewable energy developers are required to perform an Environmental Impact Study prior to receiving an authorization to proceed.  In contrast to Dr. Petrie's assertions about wind turbines and birds, the developer of the wind farm in Grand Bend, Northland Power, is undertaking a number of studies as part of its application:

Field studies are ongoing to confirm the presence, significance, sensitivity and abundance of wildlife and wildlife habitat, including:

o various bird surveys;

o bat habitat surveys;

o dens, tracks and scat surveys;

o amphibian call surveys;

o turtle and snake surveys;

o incidental observations; and,

o targeted species at risk surveys.

An Environmental Impact Study will be completed to identify potential impacts and recommend mitigation measures to minimize impacts.

If required, a permit or permits under the Ontario Endangered Species Act will be

obtained.

Consultation will be undertaken with relevant First Nations and Métis communities

These studies, in turn, are subject to scrutiny by the public during a review period plus by the Ministry of the Environment.

**************

Has anyone performed an environmental assessment of the slaughter of millions of birds by hunters such as Dr. Petrie?  Or whether shooting at them as they are resting during their migration might "scare the birds from their annual migration stop" (to quote Dr. Petrie).

Put wind farms in the right place

Owen Sound Sun Times

Letter to the Editor

October 1, 2011

Joshua Wise, Ontario Nature

For the full article, click here.

As we head into the last days before the Oct. 6 election, a hot topic of debate in rural Ontario has focused on the pros and cons of developing wind turbines as a form of green energy production.

Regrettably, many people are digging in their heels, either for or against, without adequate consideration of a reasonable middle ground.

In the face of the two greatest environmental challenges of our time -- climate change and biodiversity loss -- we should not settle into these two warring camps.

While controversy has focused on issues of health, economics and community control, wind energy opponents also often raise the spectre of potential harm to wildlife, especially birds and bats.

This is of course a key concern of conservation organizations like Ontario Nature.

And it puts us in an interesting position. On one hand, we are painfully aware of the deadly impacts of projects when they are poorly sited in habitats of importance to birds and bats.

The clearest example is the Wolfe Island wind farm near Kingston where 86 turbines began producing electricity in July 2009.

The casualty rate for birds at this site -- 16.5 per turbine -- is about seven times the industry average, making it the deadliest wind plant for birds in Canada. Why? Because it was built in a globally significant Important Bird Area.

Sadly, a number of the species most hard hit, such as tree swallows and bobolinks, are experiencing serious population declines in general -- the bobolink was added to Ontario's endangered species list last year.

Under the circumstances, it is easy to understand why our supporters are up in arms about wind projects that have been proposed within, or next to, significant wildlife habitats.

If we multiply the Wolfe Island deaths by the number of wind farms that may go up the province -- or, indeed, across North America -- the potential cumulative impact is alarming, if projects are not carefully sited.

On the other hand, when compared to other forms of energy production, even other sources of renewable energy, wind power may be the least of our worries.

A 2009 study by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority comparing the risks to wildlife from coal, oil, natural gas, nuclear, hydro and wind energy production found that wind was the most benign.

This finding was based on a lifecycle analysis that considered extraction, transportation, facility construction and decommissioning, and power generation and transmission.

In another 2009 study, published in Energy & Environmental Science, researchers compared the environmental impacts of 12 forms of electricity generation, including solar, wind, geothermal, hydroelectric, wave, tidal and ethanol. Again, wind came out on top as having the least impact overall.

So what does this mean? First from a wildlife conservation perspective it doesn't make sense to turn your back on wind power.

It has been estimated that every degree of global warming will lead to the extinction of between 100 and 500 bird species worldwide -- clearly, something must be done, and quickly, about the way we produce and consume energy.

At the same time, however, the government needs to set clear standards to ensure that projects are more carefully sited so that harm to birds, bats and other wildlife is avoided or minimized.

Putting wind farms in recognized Important Bird Areas just doesn't make sense, and should not be allowed.

No doubt, we will be faced with hard choices as we move towards more sustainable energy production.

Energy conservation is, of course, the first step, and even that will be challenging, given society's endless thirst for cheap, abundant energy.

But until we are willing and able to do without energy altogether we will need to choose among production options. Those who say no to wind mustn't forget that they are saying yes to other, potentially more harmful forms of energy.

At Ontario Nature we'd like to keep the green in green energy by putting wind farms in the right place.

Bird glass collisions kill up to a billion per year

New York Times
September 15, 2011
Lisa Foderaro


New York is a major stopover for migratory birds on the Atlantic flyway, and an estimated 90,000 birds are killed by flying into buildings in New York City each year, the Audubon group says. Often, they strike the lower levels of glass facades after foraging for food in nearby parks. Some ornithologists and conservationists say such crashes are the second-leading cause of death for migrating birds, after habitat loss, with estimates of the national toll ranging up to a billion a year.


Read about some possible solutions from the complete story here