Turbine location must consider birds

The local Lake Erie marshes have long been recognized internationally as some of the best places to see a variety of birds, from migratory warblers to bald eagles.

And more recently, developers have recognized the area as one of the best in the state for wind and view it as a prime spot to build turbines.

With the Port Clinton area's focus on ecotourism, it might seem like the perfect place to promote and build clean power sources like windmills.

But can the towering turbines coexist with the warblers, shore birds, waterfowl and raptors that use the local marshes as a rest stop and dinner buffet on their way south in the spring and north in the fall?

They can, as long as the turbines are put in the right place, said Scott Petrie, executive director of the Long Point Waterfowl and Wetlands Research Fund, part of Bird Studies Canada, in Port Rowan, Ont.

"The placement of turbines near wetland areas could displace waterfowl from key migratory areas," said Petrie, who studies waterfowl, such as ducks and tundra swans. "You wouldn't put a condo there, so you should not put a turbine there. We're trying ensure, from a waterfowl perspective, that the turbines are as green as possible."

Waterfowl tend to avoid areas with windmills, he said.

That's fine if the turbines are in places that aren't important to the survival of the birds, like inland farmland, Petrie said. If turbines were put too close to marshland, however, the animals might begin flying away from areas that actually are crucial to their migration, he said.

Geese and swans flying from North Carolina to Alaska usually stop in the Great Lakes marshes to rest and eat fish and other marshland critters.

"It takes a lot of body fat and rest to get there," he said. "They're going to need good-quality wetlands."

Similarly, off-shore wind turbines could be harmful to waterfowl, as well, he said. In Ohio, Cleveland is considering putting windmills out in the lake.

Birds that spend the winter on the Great Lakes might avoid lake areas that house turbines, which could hurt their food supply and habitat, he said.

Locally, marshes in the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge near Oak Harbor and Pickerel Creek Wildlife Area between Fremont and Sandusky are located on two major flyways -- the Mississippi and the Atlantic. Each year, birders travel to the marshes and lakefront to see the variety of birds, providing a significant boost to the local economy.

Factors in site selection

When a company proposes erecting commercial turbines that would equal more than five megawatts -- four turbines like those at the Wood County Landfill in Bowling Green -- in Ohio, Keith DeWitt Lott, wildlife biologist for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Wildlife, checks out the site and tells the developer what studies need to be completed before the state allows the project to go forward. In some cases, that means studying bird and bat migration.

"It's dependent upon the site," he said. "If you have an agricultural site in Paulding County (in Northwest Ohio bordering Indiana) with farmland as long as the eye can see, it would be vastly different than an area of marsh along the lake."

No major projects have been proposed locally, so Lott does not have data regarding how many migratory birds might impale themselves on wind turbines or whether there is a high population of bats in the area.

"The bats that are mostly affected by wind turbines are migratory, like birds," he said. "They take off and head south when winter comes. They seem to be struck considerably more than birds."

After the developer performs the required studies, Lott then will compare the results with sites that have done similar studies. If Lott believes the project could cause a high mortality rate, he would express his concerns to the Ohio Power Siting Board, the entity that gives permits for such projects.

"We also would work with the developer on the placement of the turbines to minimize impact," he said.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which operates Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge, and the National Audubon Society are supportive of turbines as long as they are located in areas that would not take away habitat or be likely to see a large number of bird kills, agency officials said.

The Audubon Society feels there are plenty of places in the United States, such as farmland or developed areas, that could house turbines without impacting wildlife, said Tom Bancroft, society chief scientist and vice president of the science department.

Doug Brewer, Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge manager, said his concern is protecting the local and migratory birds, such as songbirds and waterfowl.

"At some point, they pass through the rotor zone," he said. "That's our concern."

Seventy percent of birds killed by flying into turbine blades are songbirds, Lott said. This usually happens at night, he said.

"I think it's important that when wind turbines are put up, there is a plan to monitor them," Bancroft said. "It's an incredibly good energy source."

Society members are concerned about the effect global warming could have on human life and wildlife, Bancroft said. Projections it has made show serious habitat losses for some types of birds are likely in the next 100 years if the United States does not curb greenhouse gases that cause global warming, he said.

Alternative energy, such as wind and solar power, could help reduce greenhouse gases, he said.

A look across the lake

In Canada, Ontario officials are planning to phase out the province's coal plants and concentrate on renewable energy.

Petrie has addressed the bird-versus-turbine issue when the Erie Shores Wind Farm was built in 2006 near Port Burwell, Ont. The 66 turbines -- similar to the four at the Wood County Landfill in Bowling Green -- are dispersed among rural farmland and located between Long Point and Point Pelee National Park, which is on the same flyways as marshes in Ottawa and Sandusky counties.

The wind farm developer, AIM PowerGen Corp., had proposed putting turbines near the Long Point marshes, an idea that did not go over well with Bird Studies Canada, Petrie said. When Petrie's organization pointed out the problems with the planned location, AIM agreed to move the project to its current spot about a mile from Long Point.

Petrie doesn't mind the turbines and said they do not have much of an effect on waterfowl. He likens the death rate to ducks that have been hit by cars, a number small enough that Bird Studies Canada does not monitor it.

"There is some mortality," he said of the turbines. "It really is inconsequential."

Kate Jordan, spokeswoman for the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, said the ministry has not received any complaints about bird kills at the Erie Shores Wind Farm.

Jolanta Kowalski, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources senior media relations officer, said the ministry and Canadian Wildlife Service conducted a 2006 field study of fall migration of raptors -- birds of prey, such as hawks -- that showed the farm caused minimal deaths. A 2008 monitoring report also showed the bird fatality rate is similar to that of other North American wind farms, she said.

Still, Petrie encourages people to question wind projects in their area to make sure they are located in places that make the most sense. Not all wind companies are as environmentally friendly as the one that runs Erie Shores, he said.

"Some conservation groups -- some, not all -- seem to think it's not politically correct to speak out against turbines because they're supposed to be so green," he said. "I'd like to see more people take a hard look at these things."