Birds and wind farms: Navigating conservation challenges

Preserving biodiversity is the need of the hour, with industries looking for ways to understand and reduce the threat. Understanding the impact of wind farms on wildlife, specifically bird populations, is essential to find ways to mitigate dangers.

Risk of collision

Collision risk depends on many factors, including species, behavioural patterns, topography, weather conditions, wind farm specifications and more. The risk tends to be higher in or around areas of migratory flyways or local flight paths.

Some species are more vulnerable than others, owing to their physiology, flight patterns and behaviours. While many wind farms have low mortality levels, even those levels of additional mortality may be significant for rarer, vulnerable species with low productivity and slower maturation rates.

Species displacement

Displacing birds from areas within and surrounding wind farms due to disturbance leads to habitat loss. The construction and operational phases of wind farms contribute significantly to displacement. This is due to the visual, noise and vibration effects of turbines and vehicular/personnel interactions in the region.

Studies have shown that the scale and degree of disturbance caused by wind farms vary greatly from site to site and depend upon species-specific factors. This could be due to various factors, from the seasonal patterns of birds to the wind farm specifications, and needs to be assessed site-by-site.

Shift in migration

When wind farms are established along migratory pathways, they may create an obstacle to the birds' optimal route, an effect called the “barrier effect.” Studies of bird movements around offshore developments show wild birds keeping a distance of 100-3000m to avoid turbines.

Migratory birds alter their paths to avoid wind farms, which leaves them susceptible to other issues such as longer migration times, reduced survival chances or lower reproductive rates. These issues have cascading effects on bird populations, and can significantly alter migration patterns and lead to drastic declines in vulnerable species.

Habitat loss

The construction of a wind farm and supporting infrastructure causes direct habitat loss depending on the size of the project. While habitat loss amounts to 2-5% of the total development area, it could have widespread effects in the region, such as interference with hydrological patterns or disrupting geomorphological processes offshore.

Alterations in the use of land areas or seabeds could also contribute to habitat loss. Offshore developments could lead to the loss of terrestrial and marine habitats due to the construction of turbines.

Ecological implications

Birds play a crucial role in maintaining the delicate ecological balance of their ecosystems. From controlling rodent and insect populations to seed dispersal (or pollination), they’re vital to their surroundings. Decreasing bird populations could, therefore, substantially impact local ecosystems.

Wind farms can damage habitats, leading to significant ecological implications for wildlife, such as native species abandoning previously suitable environments either as a direct response to the habitat loss or as a displacement behaviour responding to the turbines.

Mitigating the impact

Several measures have been suggested to mitigate wind farms' effects on birds. However, choosing an appropriate site is the best way to ensure minimal negative effects. 

Other on-site and off-site measures can also be employed to reduce impact. For instance, temporary shutdowns during periods of high bird activity, such as migration or breeding, would ensure minimal impact. On 13th May 2023, the wind turbines at Borssele and Egmond aan Zee were stopped for four hours to ensure safe passage for migratory birds as an early trial of the Dutch offshore stop-start measure to avoid migratory birds colliding with wind farms.

Some major wind players are starting to invest in technology and conducting studies on bird protection. Vattenfall used Spoor’s AI Technology to understand how seabirds interact with wind turbines at the Aberdeen Bay Offshore Wind Farm in Scotland. 

By monitoring potential sites, wind farms can evaluate their risk to the local avian population and propose solutions to mitigate the risks.

Paving the way for coexistence

Wind farms are an essential part of a future built on renewable energy. However, their ecological impact, especially on bird populations, cannot be ignored. Wind farms must find ways to navigate the delicate environmental balance without disrupting it. As the number of wind farms grows, the need for sustainable practices that protect and preserve wildlife grows, too.

At Spoor, we care about how wind farms coexist with wildlife. That’s why we focus on developing software that enables industry and nature to coexist. Our innovative solutions help wind farms operate consciously, safeguarding avian populations. Our technology can also monitor potential development sites and evaluate the threat to native bird populations.