Wind turbine is no threat to bird populations, say scientists

12 May 2009

Scientists at the University of Hull's Institute of Estuarine and Coastal Studies (IECS) have been studying the effects of wind turbines on birds at a variety of sites around the UK.

Their most recent research has looked at the movement of birds from the Humber Estuary up the lower River Hull valley and specifically, around the new 125m (410ft) turbine at the Croda Europe plant in Hull.

IECS' Senior Ornithologist and Deputy Director, Nick Cutts, said, "Although the turbine is Croda's attempt to be environmentally-aware and reduce its carbon footprint, it has met with mixed reactions. As well as concerns about the turbine's visual and social impacts, there have been worries about the effects of its operation on local bird populations and the movements of birds from the internationally-important Humber Estuary."

Mr. Cutts, together with researcher Anna Phelps, have monitored the species and frequency of birds around the turbine from various vantage points, counting the number of times they came near the blades.

In order to identify any collision issues at night, they also undertook a series of morning searches for bird carcasses. A purpose-built electric fence was constructed around the base of the turbine to prevent any bird carcasses being removed by predators such as Foxes. This ensured that an accurate assessment of the number of birds struck by the turbine could be made.

Previous surveys of sites around the UK have seen the IECS survey team take to the skies in a chartered aircraft to survey bird populations off the Yorkshire coast, as well as boat surveys as far afield as Aberdeen. Such studies have found that unless located directly on the migration flight path of the birds, in most instances wind farms should have only a very small impact on bird populations.

Mr. Cutts said, "We found that the Croda Hull site is not in a significant route for wading birds moving to and from the Humber, and so there is no risk to these populations from the turbine. Although birds in the area sometimes flew at the same height as the rotor blades, they very rarely flew close to the blades, usually taking avoiding action before getting too close."

Despite the use of the specially-constructed electric fence preventing the removal of carcasses, throughout the entire survey in autumn/winter 2008-9, no bird carcasses or evidence of such were found.

As part of the planning process, the local bird population was first surveyed by IECS in 2006 before construction of the turbine. This subsequent second survey programme during 2008-9 provides evidence that local populations should remain largely unaffected by the operation of the turbine and that the Croda site is still a successful habitat for many species following its construction.

The two megawatt Croda turbine became operational in 2008 and is the second tallest structure in Hull. It is reducing the chemical plant's electricity needs by 40 percent.

Mr. Cutts added, "The project demonstrates successful cooperation between industry and environmental/conservation science, working towards a sustainable future for our local environment."