Visit Wales Now
Visit Wales Now
Visit Wales and see some dramatic changes to the landscape
The
soaring red kite, the national bird of
Birdwatching in Wales
Of
particular interest is the magnificent red kite, a symbol of Welsh resurgence.
By the beginning of the twentieth century the red kite population was reduced to
just a few breeding pairs that managed to survive in mid Wales. But thanks to conservation efforts the red kite population was rescued from
extinction and there are now more than 400 breeding pairs in mid
On June 11th, 2010, the first dead Red Kite was reported from Alltwalis in the Brechfa Forest. A visitor to Alltwalis found this dead kite under one of the turbines:
Red kite found under a wind turbine at Alltwalis in Wales
The following letter was published in the Cambrian News on July 29:
|
Madam, Re: the controversy over the discovery of a
dead Red Kite on Alltwalis Wind Farm near the base of one of the
turbines.
Statkraft director Sergio Castedo stated in the
Cambrian News, "It is important that the truth and facts behind
this incident are communicated”. That is fair enough, but to claim
that, 'Red Kite not killed by Alltwallis wind turbines' is
disingenuous. This is not an established fact, it is not
proven.
Nowhere in vet’s report does it state, "the red kite was not killed by the turbine", instead the veterinary surgeon states, “the exact cause of death was unable to be detected”, and that, “trauma would seem unlikely in light of the radiographic evidence.” Is it not rather unlikely that the only cause of harm/death due to a turbine would be a direct strike? The sudden drop in air pressure/increase in air pressure close to a turbine in operation could cause internal injuries and flight problems in itself. Imagine the effect of falling off a ship and being churned in the water from a propellor, the pressure changes would probably do as much damage as a direct strike. Red Kites don't generally drop out of the sky and die, but this one did and was found with dried blood stained around its mouth near the base of one of the Alltwallis turbines. I believe this established fact is significant. Other people can draw their own conclusions. Given
that Rhodri Glyn Thomas AM has written to Carmarthenshire County Council
urging them to, “use the powers available to them to shut down the
wind farm” until a Statkraft resolve the noise and flicker problems
being experienced by some residents in Gwyddgrug, may I suggest that
this would be a good idea such that the residents of Gwyddgrug can get a
good nights sleep, and that the red kite can fly free without fear of
being struck down by these massive industrial icons to green
consumerism. Tim
Shaw |
Red
kite killed by the blades of a wind turbine in
Germany
Birds
and wind turbines
A red kite killed by colliding with a
turbine in Spain, where up to
a million birds a year may be dying in this way
The
following is an extract from an article in the Sunday telegraph on March 14,
2010. For the full article click
here.
"A
feature of these supposedly environment-friendly machines
is their devastating effect on wildlife, notably on large birds of prey, such as
eagles and red kites. Particularly disturbing is the extent to which the
disaster has been downplayed
by professional bodies, such as the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds in
Britain and the Audubon Society in the US, which should be at the forefront of
exposing this outrage, but which have often been drawn into a conflict of
interest by the large sums of money they derive from the wind industry
itself."
There
is considerable evidence from around world that spinning blades have killed huge
numbers of birds. This seems inevitable when one considers that turbine blades
weigh in the region of 1.5 tonnes and their tips can travel at speeds of over
180 mph.
Turbines
have caused the deaths of four white-tailed eagles on the isolated islands of
Smola six miles off the Norwegian coast where 68 turbines are now in action.
Thirty other eagles have failed to return to their nesting sites within the wind
farm area according to wildlife campaigners. The dead birds were found between
August and December last year. Two had been sliced in half, apparently by a
turbine blade.
In 2008, the Regional government of Valencia, Spain, ordered 2 wind farms to be shut down after they butchered 200 griffon vultures and 100 more birds (official figures, possibly still shy of reality, especially the 100 birds..). The owning company won't comply, and will appeal the decision.
To see pictures of windfarm bird kills in Spain, click here.
|
March
2009: RSPB calls for more The
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds has announced its support for an
increase in onshore wind farms in the |
|
Wind
turbines and bat kills Bats
kills at wind farm sites are a growing concern. It seems that bats are
killed by the spinning blades as well as by wake turbulence. In a study of
two wind farms sites in the
A new study by the University of Calgary in Canada suggests that 'exploding lungs'
may be the reason for the large numbers of dead, but apparently
unharmed, bats found around wind turbines. The moving blades
cause a drop in pressure that makes the delicate lungs of bats suddenly
expand, bursting the tissue's blood vessels. This is known as a
barotrauma, and is well-known to scuba divers.
|