I've just seen this story on the BBC web pages and wondered what your views of it were??
Obviously it is having an impact on these birds and probably other birds, Am I right in saying that this area is where they get their Eaglet stock from to populate other areas around europe? I know English Nature are starting an introduction programme along the Suffolk coast next year, will this know have to be shelved??
Hmm sad and interesting, With wind turbines covering only a small physical area why are the birds hitting them? I can only assume to perch on?
They either need to make a noise the birds dont like or some other method of making the birds not sit on them...
To be honest i'm a big fan of tidal power. Which negates the issue... Plus tidal power is less variable.
Posted by stuart scott on June 26, 2006 at 5:08 AM
I've only looked into the pros and cons of wind farms recently because companies are springing up all over the place putting in applications to cover the hills in turbines around where I live. Its a similar problem over most of the North East from what I can see.
The reason they are a problem to big birds is they are often placed on good flight routes. I suspect smaller birds get whacked too but the carcasses are less likely to be found.
An individual turbine may not cover a huge area, but a group of 20 spread out over 3 square miles can be a nightmare for a bird to be amongst.
Wind turbines are the bane of this current need for alternative energy. They have a vast impact on the environment that is being overlooked in the haste to replace fossil fuels. They are inefficient and need to be positioned in spots where they blight the landscape and cause havoc with wildlife. This foolishness has got to STOP.
Windfarms don't really have a very good pay back upon the initial investiment and ongoing maintainence... nuclear is a much better alternative (esp with the latest treatment technologies)
I would be friendly with a CEO of an Electrical Generating company in the FTSE 250 and you should hear his off the record views of wind energy. Not a fan unless the technology greatly increases. Would much prefer tidal as an alternative option and ultimately nuclear. Nowadays nuclear is totally different to 15 years ago,much smaller plants and massively reduced amount of waste.
Discussion
6 repliesI've just seen this story on the BBC web pages and wondered what your views of it were??
Obviously it is having an impact on these birds and probably other birds, Am I right in saying that this area is where they get their Eaglet stock from to populate other areas around europe? I know English Nature are starting an introduction programme along the Suffolk coast next year, will this know have to be shelved??
Anyway here's the link:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/5108666.stm
Regards
Rob
They either need to make a noise the birds dont like or some other method of making the birds not sit on them...
To be honest i'm a big fan of tidal power. Which negates the issue... Plus tidal power is less variable.
The reason they are a problem to big birds is they are often placed on good flight routes. I suspect smaller birds get whacked too but the carcasses are less likely to be found.
An individual turbine may not cover a huge area, but a group of 20 spread out over 3 square miles can be a nightmare for a bird to be amongst.
Stu
I'll come down off my high horse now
Rob
T