A new study indicates that winds turbines could be contributing to the local extinction of an endangered vulture in southern Spain. ...The results suggest that if the number of wind turbines stays the same as it is today, the population will go extinct 10 years sooner than if there were no wind farms.

Could wind farms hasten the local extinction of an endangered vulture in southern Spain?

Wind farms in Italy threaten to wipe out the Golden Eagle, farmers` organisation Coldiretti and national environmental organisations said Wednesday. A conference against wind power in Rome heard that huge numbers of birds are already being killed when they collide with the spokes of wind towers in Italy.

Plans to build an ecologically friendly wind farm in northern Poland are being scrapped, after environmentalists pointed out that it would break EU laws on bird protection. The Debki beaches, on the Baltic coast, were set to see the construction of wind turbines but the project will not be realized as it would pose a serious risk to the region's birds.

You may not be aware of this but across America each year thousands of birds of prey are killed at wind farms. The public perception of wind turbines is that of slow moving blades turning in the wind on a ridge line. The power and danger of the prop design wind turbine is not well understood. Probably the hardest aspect for the public to grasp is that of "tip speed." The killer of eagles and all birds at wind farms is blade tip speed. This is what kills and this is what the wind industry does not publicize or put in their environmental documents.

Renomar will continue operation of the wind farms of Arriel (Vilafranca) and Folch II (Castellfort) wind farms, with 43 wind turbines, despite a closure order on the Environment, "until a final decision." The company behind the wind turbines has appealed arguing the closure order "does not conform to law nor to reality." The May 30 order demanded the stay of the two wind parks in the Wind Zone 3 of the Plan de la Comunidad Valenciana, due to the high mortality of vultures recorded. The two parks have a Declaration of Environmental Impact (DIA), which adopted its own conselleria. The company insists it has complied with all environmental measures that have been demanded including "painting the blades of wind turbines with zebra" stripes as well as conducting several studies on the impact of birds prior to the installation of the windmills ".

This important collaborative document describes the current research on wind energy and the assessment of impacts on nocturnally active birds and bats.

Some 51 per cent of African-Eurasian migratory raptor species have an "unfavourable" conservation status. John O'Sullivan, of Birdlife International, a global alliance of conservation organisations, said: "We have recently heard about the sad case of the golden eagle being poisoned in Scotland, but birds of prey face additional problems trying to settle in networks of suitable habitats along their migration paths. We know little about the status of raptors in Africa, and in Asia species are poorly understood." The main threats to the birds, Mr O'Sullivan said, were habitat loss, illegal hunting, power lines, and wind farm initiatives.

Birds of prey have been hard-hit by a variety of human induced threats including loss of habitat, persecution, illegal shooting and poisoning. Collisions with TV masts and wind turbines and electrocution on power lines have also added to population declines. Birds of prey are not prolific breeders which makes it hard for them to recover from losses and scientists believe that climate change will only add to the problems. Their position at the top of their food chain means they are an excellent indicator of the health of the ecosystem but unless there is an effort across borders and continents to help them their future looks bleak.

Concern about dangers to Britain's biggest birds of prey from windfarms came as 15 White-tailed Eagle chicks were flown to Scotland for a new comeback scheme. The youngsters, when able to fly, will be released in about two months in the first phase of a new project to restore this species to eastern Scotland where it was wiped out by human persecution almost 200 years ago. Now they [up to 80 more to be released over the next four years] and the new population in the Hebridean islands following a similar, post-1970s re-introduction project will face a new hazard - if they happen to move into areas well stocked with wind turbines.

The Research Institute for Nature and Forest currently performs a long-term project to study the impact of land-based wind turbines on birds (nature) and to act as a consultancy for proposed wind farms in Flanders. The project started in 2000, under the authority of the Flemish government. Preliminary study results of the monitoring were presented in Everaert et al. (2002), Everaert (2003), Everaert & Stienen (2006) and Everaert (2006 a, b). A ‘Bird 2 Atlas’ with important bird areas and migration routes in Flanders was also made available (Everaert et al. 2003). In 2007, a comprehensive report will be published with the monitoring results from 2002-2006 and further recommendations (Everaert 2007). A new article for a scientific journal will follow. Also advice on the establishment of off-shore windfarms has been prepared.

MILAN, Italy, May 10 New technologies are making an effort to mitigate environmental concerns over bird fatalities caused by wind turbines in Europe. A new monitoring program called WT-Bird has passed preliminary tests and will enter the next phase of testing. The WT-Bird, created by the Energy Research Center of the Netherlands, uses several techniques to monitor bird collisions.

The recent deaths of nine vultures in the Torremiro park near Morella is at the centre of a storm of controversy. Members of the ‘Eolicas-No’ collective stated that the birds were “sliced to death” by the blades of the giant wind collectors that can reach speeds of up to 290km an hour. However, a representative from the Renomar company that runs the installations, stated that the reason the birds died was that they had consumed the carcasses of other animals that had been dead for a considerable time.

The plight of these magnificent birds is probably "small change", given the world's present predicaments, but in my book at least, "progress" must not be allowed to fly in the face of conservation. I wonder if anyone will listen....

Ongoing research in Norway adds weight to the idea that turbines and large birds don't mix.

Wind farm turbine blades are killing a key population of Europe's largest bird of prey, UK wildlife campaigners warn.

TURBINE blades on a wind farm are killing a key population of Europe's largest eagle, wildlife campaigners warned today.