Scotland's wildlife habitats are at risk from poorly planned wind farms which can cause as much damage as new housing developments, a leading conservation body warns today. The John Muir Trust has found that the construction of a large scale wind farm, with access roads and cabling trenches, can destroy an area of land the size of 69 international-sized football pitches.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is drawing up plans that will see wind turbines constructed on its estates as part of a new green energy drive. The move, which will see the RSPB generating power for its own buildings and selling any surplus to the National Grid, is likely to anger some RSPB members who believe wind farms pose a threat to rare birds of prey.

RSPB Scotland put in written objections and supported Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) in giving evidence to a public local inquiry which finished this week, opposing what could be enormously harmful impacts of the proposed 14 turbine windfarm at Stacain, near Dalmally, in Argyll. RSPB Scotland believes the area is entirely inappropriate for a wind farm, and ministers should reject the application. The importance of the area for golden eagles, which are synonymous with Scotland's wild beauty, is such that it is almost certain to soon be proposed for designation as a Special Protection Area (SPA). If this goes ahead it will then be strictly protected under Scots and European law.

The controversy surrounding wind farms will be reignited this week when the government agency charged with protecting the environment reveals plans to build up to 80 wind turbines along some of the nation's most picturesque rivers.

Campaigners fighting proposed wind farms in Northumberland last night admitted they fear the floodgates opening after developers apparently overcame MoD objections. The Ministry is in advanced talks with RidgeWind Ltd which could see its objection to that company's scheme for Wandylaw, near Chathill, withdrawn. A public inquiry into the bid resumes on Tuesday when the two sides could reach agreement on a condition which would allow the turbines to be erected.

Windfarms are blamed for the deaths of large numbers of birds, including the threatened hen harrier, that crash into the spinning blades. But, what's now emerging is that bats are probably more at risk than birds. Up to now little has been known about the effects of windfarms on bats. Something that has mystified researchers, however, is that bats found dead around turbines had no visible injuries. So, are windfarms killing bats without touching them? It seems they are. ..."If bat fatalities continue this has the potential to be really serious. The problem is likely to get much worse with the proliferation of turbines, not just from large power companies erecting them but private individuals doing so as well," Ms Baerwald pointed out.

The manager of a Sutherland estate yesterday reassured people protesting against a proposed windfarm on the estate that there were no plans to corral deer and slaughter them as part of a mass cull connected with the development. Objectors to the 35-turbine windfarm at Gordonbush, near Brora, produced a leaflet in which they criticised the habitat management plan (HMP) of developer Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE).

Animal welfare activists were horrified to learn this week that a massive slaughter of deer is planned to take place as a result of the wind farm development. Around 80 per cent of the deer stock on the 13,354 acre estate are set to be culled, it has emerged. The animals are to be tempted by food into a enclosure and from there to a "culling station", according to a habitat management report which is not yet in the public domain.

The chief executive of the Shannon Region Fisheries Board said yesterday there were no fish remaining in the spawning grounds affected by the landslide in the Stacks Mountains in north Kerry last weekend. ...However, the full effects of the landslide on the Smearlagh and Feale rivers may not be felt for five to 10 years, because of the migratory pattern of the life-cycle of the fish. ...Residents have called for a change in the county council development plan which has designated the Stacks area for wind farm development.

It's wild, it's out there and it matters to almost everybody, even if they hardly ever see it. Scotland's remote and untamed mountains, moors and glens have been given overwhelming backing in a major new poll for the conservation agency, Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH). Over 90% of people interviewed said they thought it important for Scotland to have wild places. Of the 1304 who were questioned, only six suggested wild land was not important. More than 60% of Scottish residents said that action was needed to protect wild areas from being damaged by modern buildings, bulldozed tracks, mobile phone masts, electricity pylons or wind turbines. About 50% thought that wild places were under threat.

Plans by Lewis Windpower for a wind farm at Barvas Moor in Lewis have been refused consent on the grounds of incompatibility with European law. Ministers have concluded that the proposed 181 turbine Lewis Wind Farm would have a serious impact on the Lewis Peatlands Special Protection Area, which is designated under the EC Birds Directive and protected under the EC Habitats Directive. ..."European legislation requires a specific procedure to be followed when proposals which could potentially affect Special Protection Areas come forward. I considered all the relevant issues and concluded it would not be possible to approve this application.

... yesterday, councillors refused the proposals after considering comments from Tim Page, conservation adviser for Natural England. Mr Page said the development, which would be close to the Humber Estuary Special Protection Area, would have an adverse effect on wildlife. He said: "We advise that the council is not in a position to conclude that there will not be an adverse effect on the estuary." This was supported by the councillors sitting on the committee. Coun John Colebrook (Con, Humberston and New Waltham), said: "There is no point in having a conservation area and then making ways of intruding into it."

They were once a common sight on the west Highland estate of Beinn an Tuirc, but as the landscape has changed over the past 40 years, there is now a greater chance of spotting a mountain hare at a tea party than on the moorland. Now, a project by an energy company aims to establish a thriving community of the creatures by next Easter. Scottish Power Renewables is offering £30 to rangers for every hare they hand over. The animals will be reintroduced to draw a pair of golden eagles, which feed on the hares, away from the wind turbines. The company is offering cash after a call to estates for help failed to elicit a strong response.

Mr Scott, a life-long member of the RSPB, said the farmers had prided themselves on nurturing wildlife, and in particular birds, on their farms. And he said the area boasted an array of rarer species of birds including Bitterns, Green Plovers, Marsh Harriers and even migrating Quails. But since the arrival of the wind farm the birdlife has diminished and the hundreds of Bewick and Whooper swans that used to winter on the farmland have disappeared. Mr Scott and Mr Clark believe the effect the turbines have on wildlife is being covered up by developers eager to build even more of the windmills.

Plans for the UK's largest onshore wind farm on the Shetlands have come under fierce opposition from protesters, four years after the idea was proposed. A planning application for around 155 wind turbines, each up to 145 metres from blade to tip, is due to be submitted to councillors this summer. ...Opponents claim it will damage a landscape little changed since the last minor Ice Age. They are concerned that the turbines will be visible from almost every vantage point on the islands and beyond. They also fear that, once the sub-sea cable is installed, other developers will want to make use of every hillside in Shetland, turning it from an island community into little more than an offshore UK wind factory.

Wildlife experts have urged wind farm developers in Cumbria to be more aware of the potential risk to wild birds. The RSPB has issued a planning guide, which highlights areas that are home to species like the pink footed goose, whooper swan and hen harrier. The organisation said the move was prompted by the proliferation of wind turbine planning applications.

Economic growth will be jeopardised if plans for a massive wind farm on the Western Isles are rejected, Scottish Chamber of Commerce has claimed. Chief executive Liz Cameron is to meet Enterprise Minister Jim Mather to voice worries that the Scottish Government is minded to turn down Lewis Wind Power. She said there had been "over-zealous" interpretation of European designations designed to protect the environment.

A controversial plan to build a wind farm on a sensitive habitat near the Pentland Hills was thrown out by councillors yesterday. Energy company E.ON UK wanted to build 18 turbines on a raised bog at Auchencorth Moss near Penicuik, but the scheme attracted about 2,400 objections and opposition from groups including the Scottish Wildlife Trust, Friends of the Pentlands and the Butterfly Conservation Society. Naturalist David Bellamy described the plan as "an act of international vandalism"

Plans for Europe's largest wind farm could still be approved if ministers and environmental agencies can be persuaded to change their interpretation of rules protecting wildlife, councillors in the Western Isles heard yesterday. Ministers indicated last month that they are "minded to refuse" Lewis Wind Power's (LWP) plans for a 181-turbine development on the environmentally sensitive Lewis peatlands, although a final decision has yet to be made. Developers have until 15 February to respond. Following a special meeting of Western Isles Council yesterday, a spokesman for the authority said: "There is determination to do what we can to bring to the Scottish ministers' attention the opportunity that is in danger of being passed up here." ...the council is challenging the government's conclusions and insists the interpretation of environmental rules is too strict. It

Conwy councillors yesterday voted to oppose a 250-turbine windfarm off the North Wales coast. They also urged the Government to do the same when it rules on the scheme this year. Developers npower Renewables Ltd had reduced the size of its proposed Gwynt y Môr offshore windfarm but Conwy council's Cabinet nonetheless rejected it. The Cabinet also objected to the fact that the final decision would be taken outside Wales. ...Cabinet member Coun Keith Toy said: "I believe decisions about Wales should be made in Wales." The council voted to object to the proposed windfarm and recommend the Government refuses it due to visual impact, scale, siting, noise and possible adverse effect on tourism.