Wind-turbine bird sadness.

[pErvinalia]

I thought the Peregrine Falcon was the fastest bird. And I believe it is. Although, it's kind of cheating as it isn't the fastest under it's own power.

[Clinton Huxley]

I thought the spine-tailed swift was the fastest bird?

You know birds, ask them how fast they are and they usually exaggerate.

[pErvinalia]

The Peregrine is renowned for its speed, reaching over 322 km/h (200 mph) during its characteristic hunting stoop (high speed dive),[6] making it the fastest member of the animal kingdom.[7][8] According to a National Geographic program, the highest measured speed of a Peregrine Falcon is 389 km/h (242 mph).[9][10]

[Clinton Huxley]

I thought the Peregrine Falcon was the fastest bird. And I believe it is. Although, it's kind of cheating as it isn't the fastest under it's own power.

In a dive. Perhaps the swift is the fastest in level flight.

There's only one way to find out......fight!

[tattuchu]

Very agile birds too apparently. Just bad luck I guess.

Should I reconsider my solar panels??!

Maybe if you find an ostrich wedged in there one day....

They aren't that common in these parts. Just as well. I've paid a deposit and they are coming to install the buggers on Monday!

The Cumbrian Ostrich is common but very, very shy........

They used to stick their head in the sand. But now, more and more as such things proliferate, they're sticking their heads in solar panels

[tattuchu]

White-throated needletail. Spotted in UK 8 times ever. Fasted bird in the world, apparently. Sighted on Hebridean island. Excited bird spotters congregate and.......it flies into a wind turbine and is instantly killed. Hey ho.

Not fast enough apparently

[HomerJay]

White-throated needletail. Spotted in UK 8 times ever.

Read that it was miles off course, should have been vietnam or something, so the reason it's only been sighted 8 times is it shouldn't be here.

Tired exhausted bird can't see huge thing in it's way. Glass windows have the same effect, that's why I painted over mine.

[Clinton Huxley]

White-throated needletail. Spotted in UK 8 times ever.

Read that it was miles off course, should have been vietnam or something, so the reason it's only been sighted 8 times is it shouldn't be here.

Tired exhausted bird can't see huge thing in it's way. Glass windows have the same effect, that's why I painted over mine.

Aye, it's not a native bird. That's why the twitchers got so excited. Not sure what you can do with wind turbines to keep birds away. Maybe stick a giant cat head on the top?

[Gawdzilla Sama]

White-throated needletail. Spotted in UK 8 times ever.

Read that it was miles off course, should have been vietnam or something, so the reason it's only been sighted 8 times is it shouldn't be here.

Tired exhausted bird can't see huge thing in it's way. Glass windows have the same effect, that's why I painted over mine.

Aye, it's not a native bird. That's why the twitchers got so excited. Not sure what you can do with wind turbines to keep birds away. Maybe stick a giant cat head on the top?

Proposal I saw was to mount whistles on the tips, tuned to a specific frequency that would annoy the birds for miles around. I don't think a lot of people would like having a hundred square miles of no-birds.

[Clinton Huxley]

White-throated needletail. Spotted in UK 8 times ever.

Read that it was miles off course, should have been vietnam or something, so the reason it's only been sighted 8 times is it shouldn't be here.

Tired exhausted bird can't see huge thing in it's way. Glass windows have the same effect, that's why I painted over mine.

Aye, it's not a native bird. That's why the twitchers got so excited. Not sure what you can do with wind turbines to keep birds away. Maybe stick a giant cat head on the top?

Proposal I saw was to mount whistles on the tips, tuned to a specific frequency that would annoy the birds for miles around. I don't think a lot of people would like having a hundred square miles of no-birds.

People already complain turbines are too noisy. Unless the whistles are at a frequency only birds can hear.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

People already complain turbines are too noisy. Unless the whistles are at a frequency only birds can hear.

They'd be tuned to certain raptor frequencies and humans wouldn't hear them if they're a quarter mile away or more.

[PsychoSerenity]

From the link: "As Clive Hambler wrote in the Spectator in January, ‘renewables pose a far greater threat to wildlife than climate change’."

WTF?

Someone ought to have a look at where some of Hambler's income comes from.

Srsly. Wtf kinda claim is that?

Yes it's nonsense. First of all the full quote includes the words "in this century" suggesting long term affects of climate change are still a far greater threat.

Secondly he's primarily talking about wind farms and ignores solar energy completely. The Spanish Ornithological Society which gives him the figures of wind turbine bird deaths (I can't easily find that particular study) appears to be very much in favour of and possibly connected with a solar energy company. They also provide data suggesting that climate change is a far greater threat to endangered bird spices than renewable energy production, which presumably includes their wind turbine data, but even that is far behind the influence of agriculture as the greatest threat.

Finally the RSPB seems generally in favour of wind farms provided they are carefully monitored with strict planning regulations to ensure they aren't placed in locations that have significant effect on the wildlife. They name a couple of wind farm locations in Spain as "poorly sited" examples bad planning that have led to major bird casualties - no doubt the same sites that original data on bird deaths came from.

[Clinton Huxley]

Yarp, he's a legit scientist but his stats are.........imperfect.

[PsychoSerenity]

People already complain turbines are too noisy.

Often the noise of the turbines seems suspiciously connected to whether they are in direct line of sight and what effect they have on house prices. They also apparently seem very quiet when they are on your own land and you are getting an income from them. Noise works in mysterious ways.

[Clinton Huxley]

People already complain turbines are too noisy.

Often the noise of the turbines seems suspiciously connected to whether they are in direct line of sight and what effect they have on house prices. They also apparently seem very quiet when they are on your own land and you are getting an income from them. Noise works in mysterious ways.

I'm sure there is something in that.