Study finds farmland birds 'not at risk' from wind turbines

by Rich Bowden - Oct 2 2008, 01:15

Farmland birds are less at risk from wind turbines than previously thought, a British study has found.

Dr. Mark Whittingham and colleagues from Newcastle University in the U.K. studied 3,000 birds from 23 different species, including five red-listed species of high conservation concern -- the yellowhammer, the Eurasian tree sparrow, the corn bunting, Eurasian skylark and the common reed bunting, according to a university news release.

The study found that wind turbines did not affect seed-eating birds, such as corvids (the crow family), gamebirds and Eurasian skylarks. Larger and less manoeuvrable species, such as common pheasants, were the only birds whose distribution was affected by the turbines, said the report.

"This is the first evidence suggesting that the present and future location of large numbers of wind turbines on European farmland is unlikely to have detrimental effects on farmland birds," said Dr. Whittingham.

"This should be welcome news for nature conservationists, wind energy companies and policy makers," he continued. "With large numbers of wind farms needing to be built on lowland areas, the cumulative impacts on farmland bird species has the potential to be a significant constraint to development."

Previous studies on the effect of wind turbines on birdlife had focused on waterbirds and birds of prey.

"Much terrestrial research into the effects of wind turbines on birds has focused on geese, waders and raptors, whose populations are highest in upland and coastal areas," said Dr. Whittingham.

"There is increasing conservation concern about the impact of wind farms on these species in these areas, so applications to build new turbines are increasingly focusing on other sites, especially lowland farmland in central and eastern England."

The findings will be published this week in the British Ecological Society's Journal of Applied Ecology.

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