Gannets Threatened By Wind Farms

12 times as many gannets could be killed by off shore wind farms than previous estimates, says a study.

16:32 28 September 2015

Scientists warned that offshore wind farms pose serious threat to Scotland’s globally important gannet population. Based on their estimates, up to 12 times more gannets could be killed by the turbines than previously thought.

 

It follows a research showing that seabirds can fly at greater heights when searching for food, increasing their risk of being hit by spinning turbine blades.

 

Prof Keith Hamer of the School of Biology at Leeds University oversaw the new research and said: "Our study highlights the shortfalls in current methods widely used to assess potential collision risks from offshore windfarms, and we recommend much greater use of loggers carried by birds to complement existing data from radar studies or observers at sea."

 

Dr Ian Cleasby, of Exeter University and the lead author of the study, cautioned: "There's a lot of uncertainty over how many birds would actually be killed this way. But our predictions, if realised in the field, are high enough to cause concern over the potential long-term effects on population size."