Proponents of small wind systems got a lift this week when the county attorney said a proposed bill designed to streamline the permitting process would not open the county to legal or financial liability should an applicant's windmill kill an endangered seabird. The announcement, delivered by Deputy County Attorney Ian Jung, who specializes in planning issues and advises the Kaua‘i Planning Commission. ...While Jung's statement could go a long way to resolving one issue standing in the way of the bill's passage, there are several other factors that have yet to be addressed.

The dirty little secret about the windmill farm at Altamont Pass is that it slaughters thousands of birds every year while politicians turn a blind eye. Four years ago, environmental groups filed suit after the Alameda County Board of Supervisors effectively allowed the farm's several owners to keep killing birds despite evidence that the deaths could be greatly lessened.

The thousand of birds killed by the wind turbines at Altamont Pass tainted the reputation of the renewable energy source. But according to a recent report by the Ventana Wildlife Society and the Stanford Solar and Wind Energy Project, smaller wind-power projects may be able to harvest energy in some parts of Monterey County without harming the endangered California condor. "The condor is the main thing that's been holding up the development of wind-power projects in Monterey County," said John Roitz.

Bird experts have welcomed the Scottish Government's decision to refuse permission for a wind farm they said would have posed a risk to golden eagles. WPR Wind Ltd hoped to build a 14-turbine wind farm near Inveraray in Argyll. However, RSPB Scotland objected to the proposal on the grounds that the site was one of the most productive areas in the country for golden eagles.

Lane Johnson said the great blue herons that perch on and near his property in Bell Acres are like an annoying little brother that you wish would go away, but you also feel obligated to protect. ...he spoke during a public hearing Monday night against the proposed erection of a 60-foot wind turbine that would go up about a half-mile away from the herons' nesting spot -- or rookery -- because it might endanger the birds.

Wind turbine memorial. Illustration: Rob Biddulph Imagine that at the flick of a switch, you could not only turn a light on or off but select which power source you were going to use. Would an eco warrior choose wind power or coal? Surely this is a no-brainer. Not necessarily.

Wind farms can reduce bird numbers by up to half, according to a new study by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, that raises questions about the charity's support of the new technology. ...It suggested that the most likely cause of the decline is the fact that birds are less likely to live near wind farms because of the noise and development.

The RSPB Scotland study looked at 12 operating upland wind farms in the UK and found that numbers of several birds of high conservation concern are reduced close to the turbines. Affected birds include the hen harrier and golden plover, which are protected under European law, and the curlew, which is a high-priority species under the UK Biodiversity Action Plan.

The slaughter at Altamont Pass is being raised by avian scientists who say the drive among environmentalists to rapidly boost U.S. wind farm power 20 times could lead to massive bird losses and even extinctions. New wind projects "have the potential of killing a lot of migratory birds," said Michael Fry, director of conservation advocacy at the American Bird Conservancy in Washington. ...Officials in the wind energy industry say migratory birds and birds of prey, including eagles, are killed each year at some of the nation's biggest wind farms, but they say the concerns are overstated.

Scotland's ospreys are once again starting their epic annual winter migration to West Africa. Forestry Commission Scotland (FCS), the biggest land manager in the country, has been keeping a close watch on the success of the fish-eating birds of prey. One of the birds monitored using satellite tracking technology is known as Red 8T.

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?

An energy company has admitted precious Red Kites are at significant risk from its planned new wind farm complex in South Wales. Now, campaigners against the controversial proposal in the Swansea Valley say they will prosecute npower renewables under the Wildlife and Countryside Act if the farm goes ahead and Red Kites - dubbed Wales' National Bird - are chopped up in turbine blades.

For the next four months or so, Mr Ressom and fellow observer Helen Phillips will stand sentry among the reeds, monitoring the numbers of Australia's rarest bird - the orange-bellied parrot - making sure its dwindling numbers don't fly into the blades of a wind turbine. ...Last year, the turbines at Yambuk were shut down twice, when the observers alerted the wind farm operator Pacific Hydro, that a number of the parrots were feeding in the vicinity.

Nature conservationists are expected to raise concerns over potential plans to place four wind turbines close to an internationally important bird reserve. ...Martin Kerby, RSPB planning officer for the North-east said: ... "When the planning application is submitted we will be looking very carefully at it. It depends on how many birds are passing through. "It's about 1km from Saltholme but of most concern is the North Tees mudflats."

State environmental officials oppose wind turbines anywhere in the Delaware Bay, a position that could jeopardize an Ocean County firm's plans for a wind park there. The Department of Environmental Protection cited potential threats to migratory birds, oyster seed beds and other resources in an Aug. 20 letter to Delsea Energy, of Toms River. Scott Brubaker, the DEP's assistant commissioner for land use management, wrote "the Delaware Bay is not an appropriate area for development of wind energy."

Not much is certain about the future of sage grouse in Wyoming - including the birds' undecided status as a potentially endangered species and their possible role in curbing oil, gas and even wind energy development. But based on a number of sage grouse habitat improvement projects in development across the Bighorn Basin, one thing is certain: Boosting the bird's prospects is a slow and painstaking process.

Energy advocates are eyeing wind turbines to create electricity along the North Shore. Bird researchers are studying where the migrating birds fly most often. Once they know, they can advise the energy people on areas to avoid. ..."We know we have a globally significant raptor migration route here that [wind turbines] could have a serious impact on if not done correctly,'' Niemi said. "But we also have these hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of passerines [small birds] that come through here at pretty much the same time that most people don't even know about. We have to look out for them, too.''

Brian Rutledge, executive director of Audubon Wyoming out of Laramie, said golden eagles, along with other raptors, are struggling in light of the energy development around the state. Power poles are being erected in areas of the sagebrush sea ...and now raptors can perch there and pick off sage grouse. ...He said a rise in wind energy also threatens the bird.

Wind turbine blades in Turitea Reserve could hurt New Zealand's endangered native falcons, a board of inquiry has been told. Biogeography specialist Professor Emeritus of Massey University John Flenley told the Turitea Wind Farm hearing yesterday the planned wind farm could lead to local extinction of the rare bird.