Wind farms alter geese migration
The flight patterns of pink-footed geese have been altered by the construction of offshore wind farms, a study has suggested.
By monitoring the movement of the birds over four years, researchers were able to detect changes in flight patterns that suggest the birds are avoiding the wind farms en route back to the UK.
The results, published in the Journal of Applied Ecology, show that this species of geese, at least, identify wind farms as a threat and alter their flight to avoid them accordingly. Researchers Pawel Plonczkier and Ian Simms from the Food and Environment Research Agency (Fera) tracked the flocks using radar as they returned to a Lincolnshire shore.
The new research has countered the assumption that the threat of geese colliding with wind turbines was substantial, due to their relatively limited manoeuvrability in flight and propensity to migrate at night.
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