"The biggest bird killer in the US (and likely, the world) is #Cats. Outdoor cats kill somewhere between 1.3 billion and 4 billion birds a year in the US alone. Let’s put it this way: for every one bird that dies in the blades of a turbine, domestic cats are dragging roughly 4,000 back to the porch."
Article: The harm caused by wind turbines isn't nearly as bad as you think...
@PeterBlok Because it is very expensive and it can only detect big birds.
@PeterBlok maybe but one can ask oneself the question if it is really necessary because of such few accidents and because the system doesn't work for small birds. Birds and other wildlife also adapt being around wind turbines. About 15km from my home there are geese breeding directly underneath them. The road makes more victimes. As do powerlines.
@PeterBlok Here and there, there will always be victims, no matter what we do or how much we invest. Just as people will continue to be killed in traffic accidents despite mandatory systems. Don't get me wrong, I'm on your side. Still, we have to be realistic. The number of victims per mill per year is often only one to four. I think that's roughly the number of birds that fly to their deaths into a window of a building block.
@PeterBlok Should we therefore ban windows? Moreover, we're seeing birds and other animals, adapt to wind turbines. They're clever. What if birds fly through the Netherlands where the systems work, but not abroad? They then assume the turbine is shutting down, while those abroad might not. That also results in casualties. So it's not so black and white.
@PeterBlok Dyeing one wing, which has also been suggested, could be a solution, but technically it's not so easy because the mill could become unbalanced, which is undesirable. Repeatedly informing people, thus debunking the persistent myths about "butcher" mills, is probably the best approach.
The article said something like "power loss was minimal," maybe 2%?
I assume that they balance those big "wings" in a similar way to the wheels on your car.
Next gen blades could have the color "baked in" at time of manufacture and would not have the power penalty, maybe?
Worth pursuing, researching, & deploying if it has significant positive effects.
@PeterBlok The weight sure is a problem. Different paints have different weight, consistancy and different resistance to air so it has to be ballanced perfectly. Way different than a wheel of a car. It has to be evenly on the whole blade or the effect will cause disaster, I learned from experts in windmill technology. I'm a certified advisor for including wildlife in solarfields and windparcs. We still take regulair fieldtrips long after the study because of rapid changing techn.
Again there is effective #mitigation going on in the building trade.
My non-expert understanding is a series of parallel lines either etched into or applied to #windows helps #birds identify the solid barrier, but has little effect on inside out viewing. 🙂
Richard Rathe
Peter Blok
Miranda