Mr. Burger said building roads and bases for turbines in the area would reduce the amount of available grassland for birds to live and breed. Mrs. Liner said in the letter that grassland birds typically require large fields that allow them to avoid predators in order to breed, adding that several species such as Henslow’s Sparrow and the Northern Harrier prefer having 100 acres available for habitation or more.

Impact on Birds New York

This letter by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, was submitted to the State of New York in reference to a pending proposal to build a wind turbine project in the very sensitive land area on and around Galloo Island. The letter can be accessed by clicking on the links included on this page. The letter was submitted by Clifford P. Schneider with an accompanying letter by Mr. Schneider explaining the federal agency's concerns with the project application.

Impact on Birds New York

I attended an informational meeting on Jan. 10 sponsored by Apex Clean Energy at the Yates-Carlton Sportsman’s Club in Lyndonville. After their presentation the three Apex spokesmen opened up the floor for questions.

Impact on Birds USA New York

Jefferson County Planning Board member Clifford P. Schneider, a retired wildlife biologist, said in a letter to the PSC that Apex Clean Energy used studies from the first Galloo Island proposal, filed by a different company, to minimize the potential environmental impacts of the project. And he attacked his former agency for altering report results to diminish their importance.

Impact on Wildlife Impact on Birds New York

Jefferson County Planning Board member Clifford P. Schneider claimed that Apex Clean Energy failed to address the potential number of birds and bats that could die from colliding with their turbines’ blades and rotors for its proposed Galloo Island Wind Farm. He requested that the developer should conduct a radar study in 2017 to determine that statistic.

Impact on Birds Impact on Bats New York

According to Brett Ewald, a biologist and naturalist of Lakeshore Nature Tours, Western New York is the top raptor migration flyway in eastern North America. Raptors migrate from the south to the north to breed in the spring.

Impact on Birds New York

The group’s report claimed that the Somerset-Yates project would interfere with migratory songbirds and raptors, which “concentrate within six miles of the shoreline during spring and fall of each year.” Also, it would be built “close to breeding habitat for declining grassland birds,” which could be displaced, the conservation group claimed.

Impact on Birds New York

The nationwide survey by the ABC listed the vast numbers of migratory songbirds and raptors which rely on this area, as well as the proximity to the breeding habitat for declining grassland birds for why the Lighthouse Wind project is on the list. “(United States Fish and Wildlife Service) has expressed serious concern about this project, warning the developer that this is an area of extremely high avian use,” ABC said regarding the proposed project.

Impact on Birds USA New York

This bald eagle landed in Save Ontario Shores' President John Riggi's front yard in Lyndonville on May 29. The bald eagle is considered to be a "threatened" species by the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

Impact on Birds New York

Pushed by the wind industry to aid investor confidence in wind farm projects, the rule change approved by the U.S. Department of Interior extends the lifespan of what are known as “eagle take permits” from five to 30 years. Permits enable transmission operators, power producers and other industries to accidentally kill a limited number of birds without penalty under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act.

Impact on Birds USA New York

On the night of Dec. 7, I drove through some very thick fog. As I traveled state Route 190 from Ellenburg to Brainardsville my fog lights illuminated one of the grizzliest scenes I have experienced. I counted 15 bloody, mutilated corpses of snow geese spread out over several miles.

Impact on Birds Impact on Wildlife New York

The New York state Department of Environmental Conservation and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services have expressed deep concerns about putting wind turbines in the migration flyway along and south of the Lake Erie shoreline. Will the Thruway Authority have bird studies done to cover these sites? Will they secure permits to killing golden and bald eagles? Have the people of Western New York lost their rights to present their views?

Impact on Birds New York

Based on migratory patterns of birds, the Canadian Wolfe Island wind project is the "worst sited build-out" Mr. Evans said he's seen. He stressed the importance of placing turbines in places where their impact on native species will be minimized.

Impact on Birds New York

Alarming bird and bat mortality rates at the Wolfe Island wind farm have an international group calling for a three-year moratorium on wind energy projects on the Upper St. Lawrence River and east end of Lake Ontario. Save The River vice-president Stephanie Weiss said the 86-windmill farm has caused the death of 688 birds and bats, equalling eight per windmill.

Impact on Birds Impact on Wildlife Canada New York

An environmental group is calling for a 3-year moratorium on wind farm development along the upper St. Lawrence River, citing potential threats to the region's bird and bat populations.

Impact on Birds Impact on Wildlife Canada New York

Save The River is urging local municipalities bordering the Upper St. Lawrence River in the U.S. and Canada to implement a three year moratorium on wind project development. The move was taken after careful review of recent data showing potentially high avian and bat mortality from the first six months of operation of the Wolfe Island Wind project, the only operating wind project in the region.

Impact on Birds Impact on Wildlife Canada New York

A recent study of bird and bat mortality at Wolfe Island's 82-turbine wind farm is raising concerns among environmentalists. An interview with Ornithologist Bill Evans explains the concerns.

Impact on Birds Impact on Wildlife Canada New York

Bill Evans wants to make it clear he's not against wind turbines. "I'm not anti-wind. I'm a consultant who people call from both sides when there's a concern about the impact on migrating birds," he said. Evans, 50, is an Ithaca-based ornithologist who has studied bird migration in North America for more than 25 years. He helped start the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology's research into avian night flight calls in the mid-1990s and in 1998 founded the non-profit group Old Bird Inc.

Impact on Birds Impact on Wildlife USA New York

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.

Impact on Birds Impact on Wildlife Europe USA California New York

Wind energy developers in New York now have guidelines on how to survey potential turbine sites for their impact on birds and bats. Earlier this month, the state Department of Environmental Conservation issued its advice regarding how to minimize damage to bat and bird habitats. "These guidelines set forth DEC's recommendations to commercial wind energy developers on how to characterize bird and bat resources at on-shore wind energy sites and how to estimate and document impacts resulting from the construction and operation of these projects."

Impact on Birds Impact on Bats Impact on Wildlife New York