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Re: Statement on Condors



Hi Josh and Carolinabirders -

The information I have on wind power and raptors is coming from memory
right now but there is actually a problem.  It's the large, soaring
raptors that seem to crash into the wind generators, most notably
golden eagles.  It may be any time of year, not necessarily during
migration. The last person I spoke with about this problem suggested
it might be young, relatively inexperienced birds that are dying.  It
seems to be that they don't see the turbine props as they rotate at
high speeds and run into those.  The wind generators also tend to be
placed in areas that large, soaring birds would utilize to gain
altitude as well as soar or kite.   Again, I'm recalling this
information from a few presentations at meetings and from speaking
with other raptor biologists.  As I recall, the numbers of deaths
aren't in the realm of tower kills or window strikes but are a small,
continuing source of mortality all year round.

I hope this helps, anyone out there have more information?

Elise Schmidt
Columbia, SC