Rfalconcam Forum

A WHITE-TAILED sea eagle introduced to the Killarney National Park from Norway three years ago has been killed after colliding with a wind turbine near Kilgarvan, an area designated as suitable for wind farms in the Kerry county development plan.

Although such collisions are common in Europe and the US, it is the first time a sea eagle has died here, or in Britain, due to a wind turbine, Dr Allan Mee, project manager for the reintroduction project, said.

The death is likely to cause a reappraisal of wind farm areas in the region.

The eagle, which had severed a leg, was found below a wind turbine at Sillahertane on the Cork-Kerry border earlier last month. A postmortem determined the cause of death as the strike with a wind blade. She had begun roosting and was likely to be one of the first of the eagles reintroduced here to breed this year or next.

Areas suitable for wind farms were decided before the raptor reintroduction programme, which brought in red kites and large birds of prey such as eagles five years ago.

These areas are likely to be reviewed now in the light of their effect on the introduced birds, which have low reproduction rates. There will also be a series of recommendations for existing wind farms, Dr Mee indicated.

“Over the next few years it will be important to assess how much white-tailed eagles use the existing wind farms, and whether they avoid wind farms to any extent. We will also work with wind farm operators to help reduce the risks of further collisions where possible.”

The effects of wind farms on protected birds is one of the single biggest obstacles to planning in Europe.

Poisoning, however, remains the chief cause of unnatural deaths of eagles here. So far some nine of the 77 birds introduced here since 2007 have died from poisoned bait ostensibly laid out for foxes and grey crows to protect lambs.

This is the last year of the reintroduction programme and about 20 birds are due in from Norway in early summer.

In Kerry for a fundraising dinner for the project on Thursday last, Norwegian ambassador Öyvind Nordsletten said he hoped recent laws strengthening the protection of birds of prey from poisoning would be enforced, as there was “a real chance” white-tailed sea eagles were going to start breeding here for the first time in more than 100 years.

Mr Nordsletten also said he had made it his business to meet then minister for the environment John Gormley and the legislation was strengthened.

“But it’s one thing to have stringent laws, it’s another to enforce them,” he said.

The practice of using poisoned meat bait was banned in October 2010 here. Fines of up to €5,000 may now be imposed on conviction.

This is a sad story, but highlights a very difficult issue, which is energy production. Every means of energy production has its negative environmental potential - wind turbines are considered by some to be unsightly, and they can harm wildlife in this way. Tidal systems potentially spoil estuary ecosystems and can cause coastal erosion. Solar farms, as I learned recently on holiday in Spain, have to cover vast areas of habitat to produce meaningful amounts of power, although arguably have lesser impact in desert locations. We have all been reminded of the perils of nuclear energy with recent events in Japan. And fossil fuels create the CO2 problem and resultant climate problems. So we have to decide, what's the best compromise ? I don't know the answer. Such bird strike events are inevitable, but will hopefully be rare, with sensitive siting of such installations.

What we really need to face up to is the issue of us dramatically reducing our demand for energy in our everyday lives. I believe one component of this will involve shedding our dependance on private transportation, which is a privilege we have become accustomed to but not a fundamental right as some would assert. I know I wouldn't find that easy....

Well said Neil. Same with electricity, if you unplug all appliances, lamps that are not being used and use surge protectors instead of plugging directly into the wall outlet, you can save yourself, (depends on usage), a whopping $32 or more a month on your electric bill. Same with water, set your hot water tank to 110 degrees, it will save.

I live out in the country there are no buses out here. So unless I stop working I need my car.

And well said, Donna!  I agree that energy production and use are very major concerns and the use, at the least, we can easily become active in dealing with, at the personal level.  But, also of concern is this article (and this is not meant as a critism of you bringing it to our attention, Donna!).  But, just off the top, how does being hit by a windmill sever a bird's leg - sever a wing, break its neck, break its back, yes...  But legs, as we are all aware, are tucked up underneath when birds fly.  Seems more likely it was attacked by something, was weak because it had not adjusted to the area and was poorly fed.  People, who write articles like this need to be challenged for solid evidence.  And what real evidence is there - I have heard nothing from the people in Ontario, who have been fighting windmills with other questionable info, and am aware of no info on similar strikes in The States.  Again, we have yet another article without any real evidence...

Anne in Toronto