WHAT ABOUT THE BIRDS?

To what extent are offshore wind farms affecting our coastal birds? And what can be done about it?

Last month’s issue touched on the potential for offshore wind farms to eventually create habitats for marine life, however an important question still remains – What do they mean for birds? Climate change is a major threat to seabird colonies. Warming waters means many marine organisms are struggling including those that make up the diet of coastal birds. Renewable wind energy is an important player in the fight against global warming but could it drastically change life for the sea birds? Many of our already threatened native birds such as kittiwakes, terns, puffins and gannets could all suffer as the result of irresponsibly placed wind farms.

Historically human nature has a habit of creating new problems via efforts to fix another. Our wildlife populations have been known to suffer significant declines as a result from new industrial developments such as the surge of chemical farming techniques that succeeded World War II. Surely, we can learn from our past and ensure that the development of wind energy does not become another example of this pattern by causing more drastic population declines.

Such population declines would mainly be the result of habitat loss, disturbance and collisions caused by the placement of turbines. But how often do birds actually collide with the propellers? And are the numbers significant enough to stand in the way of greener energy? The fact is that it varies with different species. Depending on the altitude at which they fly and their acrobatic skills some birds are quite successful at avoiding the giant blades in their path. However, some are not. Many seabirds rely on flying at lower heights to enable them to prey on their dinner and are perhaps not agile enough to avoid the propellers. Not something to be held against them as the blades can reach speeds of up to 160 miles an hour and in bad weather casualties can easily add up.

So lets say that the birds avoid the wind farms, then where do they feed? The shallow waters that host the right conditions for the turbines are also the predominant feeding grounds for the birds. They support such populations that are key to the conservation of their already struggling species. Scotland’s coastlines are an ornithological gold mine. They make up 25% of the length of all EU coastlines and in turn accommodate 45% of the EU’s breeding seabirds. The nation is also making great progress towards sustainability efforts holding 25% of Europe’s wind and tidal technology. It was only a matter of time before these things no longer went hand in hand. The RSPB have just lost a 2-year long court battle over the fate of four new major wind farms which are to be built off the east coast of Scotland. Concerns were raised about one farm set to be constructed north of Torness. Though this project makes promises of producing power for 32,000 homes it also threatens losses of over 1000 gannets and hundreds of kittiwakes and puffins in the summer months alone. Though their court battle was lost, the plans were amended to fewer and more powerful turbines yet the outcome is still a disappointment to many. But where must we draw the line? Again, I ask the question to what extent should wildlife be sacrificed for the future benefits of greener energy?

While there is no question that offshore wind farms are a giant step in a greener direction, the question really is; where is the best place to put them? Where will the benefits most outweigh the costs? Until recently the options for locations were confined to shallow waters of less than 40 metres depth. However, new ‘floating wind farm’ projects are promising the ability to build turbines in depths of up 700 metres. Opening whole new territories away from the shallow feeding grounds of our precious seabirds. So perhaps there is hope yet for birds like the Atlantic puffin (Fratercula arctica), that was again reviewed as ‘vulnerable’ to extinction on the IUCN red list earlier this year, to live to see a greener future.

This article was first published in the October 2017 issue of New Nature Magazine.