A short-toed eagle was found dead at the foot of a wind turbine in the Freycenet-la-Tour park on May 22. Present at the time of the impact, herpetologist Solenne Muller entrusted the bird to the Bird Protection League for an autopsy. The finding? The good health of the animal before the fatal impact shows that wind turbines can be real deadly places for birds.
A short-toed eagle was found dead at the foot of a wind turbine in the Freycenet-la-Tour park on May 22. Present at the time of the impact, herpetologist Solenne Muller entrusted the bird to the Bird Protection League for an autopsy. The finding? The good health of the animal before the fatal impact shows that wind turbines can be real deadly places for birds.
A short-toed eagle was found dead at the foot of a wind turbine in the Freycenet-la-Tour park on May 22. Present at the time of the impact, herpetologist Solenne Muller entrusted the bird to the Bird Protection League for an autopsy. The finding? The good health of the animal before the fatal impact shows that wind turbines can be real deadly places for birds.
A short-toed eagle is a species of majestic birds of prey specialized in hunting reptiles. Since the ministerial decree of April 17, 1981 relating to birds protected throughout the territory, it benefits in this sense from total protection in France.
It is therefore prohibited to destroy, mutilate, capture or remove it, to intentionally disturb or naturalize it, as well as to …
... more [truncated due to possible copyright]A short-toed eagle was found dead at the foot of a wind turbine in the Freycenet-la-Tour park on May 22. Present at the time of the impact, herpetologist Solenne Muller entrusted the bird to the Bird Protection League for an autopsy. The finding? The good health of the animal before the fatal impact shows that wind turbines can be real deadly places for birds.
A short-toed eagle is a species of majestic birds of prey specialized in hunting reptiles. Since the ministerial decree of April 17, 1981 relating to birds protected throughout the territory, it benefits in this sense from total protection in France.
It is therefore prohibited to destroy, mutilate, capture or remove it, to intentionally disturb or naturalize it, as well as to destroy or remove eggs and nests and to destroy, alter or degrade their environment.
"There was no doubt that the animal had collided with a blade."
On May 22nd, Solenne Muller, a professional herpetologist, was studying amphibians at the Barthes pond, a stone's throw from the six wind turbines installed in the area. She was accompanied by photographer Simon Bugnon.
Her observations were then disrupted by a sharp, dull noise coming from one of the wind turbines. “The noise was a kind of big ‘Poc’,” she shares. “I immediately turned my head and saw a large bird of prey fall along the first wind turbine. There was no doubt that the animal had struck a blade.”
According to a study by the League for the Protection of Birds (LPO), 56,000 birds are killed each year by wind turbines in France. The total losses are difficult to quantify, as some of the carcasses are recovered by natural predators.
"The shock was so violent that all his organs were displaced internally."
The scientist and her friend immediately ran to the base of the wind turbine and discovered the lifeless bird. She then recognized it as a short-toed eagle, an emblematic species. "Naively, I thought maybe it could still be alive and acting accordingly," confided Solenne Muller. "But the shock had knocked it down instantly."
She continues: "We contacted the LPO, but also the town hall and local elected officials to warn them. The League for the Protection of Birds took charge of it and in turn entrusted it to the French Office for Biodiversity (OFB)."
The short-toed eagle is then examined by a veterinarian. Not only does the autopsy reveal that the raptor was in good health before the impact, free of any diseases or visual problems, but it was indeed the blade that pulverized its body. "The impact was so violent that all its organs were displaced internally," describes Solenne Muller.
"It's really amazing to build this type of machine in such teeming living spaces."
According to the OFB, without Solenne Muller's presence on site at the time of the events, "this proof that wind turbines have consequences on bird mortality would have remained ineffective". Solenne Muller explained in this sense: "It is very rare to witness this live. And it is obvious that this death of a protected raptor is not an isolated case, because the bodies are quickly carried away by foxes and other terrestrial predators".
She then wonders: "What I don't understand is the installation of these wind turbines. Birds of prey, like the short-toed eagle, are reptile hunters. However, the Barthes pond is very rich in amphibians and snakes like grass snakes, for example. It is really surprising to build this type of machine in spaces so teeming with life, in places where biodiversity is very dense."
"The wonderful world of wind turbines is not as beautiful as the developers would have us believe."
The president of the Association for the Preservation of the Exceptional Landscapes of Mézenc (APPEM) , Gilbert Richaud, has been fighting for years, alongside others, to highlight the harmful effects that wind turbines have on this preserved natural site.
"We need to stop taking people for fools," he says. "The wonderful world of wind turbines is not as beautiful as developers would have us believe. These constructions, especially in a place like Mézenc, are a disaster for all biodiversity, avifauna (birds, Editor's note) and land animals. Not to mention the visual impact on residents and tourists."
He adds: "According to the feedback we have received about the short-toed eagle mown down by a wind turbine, the developer does not recognise the direct cause of the machine. He claims that the bird must have been sick or the victim of a visual problem." Except that the autopsy completely contradicts EDF Renewables ' arguments .
We tried, by email, to speak with the developer of the Freycenet-la-Tour wind turbines, EDF Renouvelables. We wanted to know if there were any devices fitted to the wind turbines to prevent accidents with birds. We received no response.
"Since the mother is dead, her baby has no hope of growing up and surviving."
Gilbert Richaud also points out that the death of this short-toed eagle reduced the chances of survival of its chick to zero. "According to its brood plate, it was a female with a young in the nest ," he laments .
He then laments: "Since the mother is dead, her child obviously has no hope of growing up and surviving."
According to a recent study by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), nearly 600 million breeding birds have disappeared in Europe since 1980. Cats are estimated to kill around 75 million birds per year in France. In addition to collisions with power lines, vehicles and windows, the main causes of the collapse of bird species are the use of pesticides in intensive agriculture.
When black brings back color
In France, there are few or no bird-collision devices . And as usual, the Scandinavian countries are still the most advanced on the subject. Norwegian researchers followed several machines in the Smøla archipelago wind farm for 10 years. Some had their blades painted black, and others did not.
The study reported by the journal Ecology and Evolution shows that this simple operation has drastically reduced bird strikes, reducing the bird mortality rate by 71.9% compared to turbines that remained pristine white.