Turbines vs Wildlife: the Condor

From Examiner.com

Two of California's greatest environmental causes, renewable energy and saving the California condor, are on a collision course.

The explosion of lethal prop-style wind farms being built in condor habitat is putting the hard-won future of the condor at risk.

Many condors undoubtedly perish at such wind farms, although official reports attribute losses to other causes. Remember, great financial investments often warrant great cover-ups by those who stand to lose money.

Nearly 1/3 of the captive-bred California condors -- released into the wild since 1992, and closely monitored by scientists, are missing.


If one looks into the scientific literature, ‘collision’ is nearly always listed as a major cause of death to condors, yet there is never any mention of collision in association with the thousands of prop turbines, spinning at 200 deadly miles per hour, in their habitat. In fact, reports are careful to point out that, despite killing thousands of other bird-of-prey species a year, condors are, somehow, miraculously, not victims of the turbines.

Is this believable?

The leading cause of golden eagle mortality in California is collisions with prop wind turbines. (Wiegand: private correspondence.) Golden eagles are lighter and more agile in the air than giant, awkward condors. If eagles can’t avoid the blades, how can a clumsy flier like the imperiled California condor?



Photo: Wikipedia, public domain

At Altamont Pass, where nearly 7000 prop wind turbines choke the landscape, over 1000 birds of prey die each year. One of the most commonly killed species at the Altamont pass wind farm is the turkey vulture.