Seabirds avoid wind farm threat with a new flight path

WIND turbines seem far less harmful to wildlife than was first thought, after a major impact study found that seabirds will actively change their flight paths to avoid them.

Researchers – using radar and video to monitor seabirds flying near the Vattenfall’s Thanet offshore wind farm in the Channel over a two-year period – found that the birds went near the turbines in just 2per cent of the 600,000 videos shot.

They recorded just six collisions during the period, an average of one every four months.

Previously, it was thought the number of birds being killed by wind farms was more than double that figure.

The Offshore Renewables Joint Industry Programme’s (ORJIP) bird collision avoidance study, observed how seabirds will change their flight path to avoid the turbines.

Dr Aly Mccluskie, the senior conservation scientist at the RSPB, said: “There is currently much uncertainty in our understanding of how birds behave in the vicinity of wind turbines.

“The ORJIP bird collision project… is exactly the type of project we need far more of if we are to realise our ambitions for offshore renewable deployment at scale and in harmony with nature,” he added.

Tim Frayling, the senior environmental specialist in ornithology at Natural England, said: “The proof of concept has been successfully demonstrated and we would look forward to seeing similar studies in different locations, including wind farms closer to seabird colonies.”