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Turbines being erected at Braes of Doune. Photo: K. Duffy |
Since autumn 2002 NRP Ltd has been monitoring use of the Braes of Doune Wind Farm Study Area by key bird species, including Red Kites. The area is located near Stirling, in central Scotland, and the work is being funded by Airtricity.
The area around Doune was one of three sites in Scotland where red kites were reintroduced after their extermination in the 19th century. Between 1996 and 2001, 103 kites were imported from Germany as nestlings and released by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (Scotland) and Scottish Natural Heritage, resulting in a population of at least 31 breeding pairs by 2005. The wind farm site is only a few kilometres from one of the original release sites and is in the heart of the kites’ core range in central Scotland.
In 2004, NRP commensed a study to establish the level and manner of use of the study area by the kites by using radio tracking. Nestling kites were fitted with 22g back mounted radio transmitters that have a three-year life span. Four individuals were fitted with these in 2004, and 19 in 2005. In addition, several radio-tagged individuals from the Inverness area have, at least temporarily, settled locally. Kite nestlings to be tagged are selected from nests encircling the study area as these birds may cross it as they travel between communal roosts after fledging.
'With the help of Central Scotland Raptor Study Group and FCS, we radio tagged 14 more birds in 2006, 16 in 2007 and 15 in 2008. Survival of the 2007 cohort has also been even better than the 2006 one with 13 of the 15 tagged birds surviving to at least June 2008.'
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Fitting a red kite with a transmitter. Photo: K. Duffy
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The kites’ transmitters have an activity sensor that allows us to determine whether a bird is flying, perched or likely dead on the ground. As well as determining use of the site, radio tracking will enable recovery of any kites killed by turbine strike, should this actually occur.
Routine circuits of the study area are made on foot, ideally twice a week (but dependent on Scottish weather!), taking in the highest points of the site to achieve complete radio tracking coverage. Electronic and visual searches for birds are made at fixed points around the route, which passes through the main turbine area. We map all locations of kites gained from telemetry or direct observations. Apart from the mapped data, this method also allows us to compare detection of non-radio tagged birds with tagged ones. Also, a count of birds encountered by chance on the walk route is made on each occasion, which helps determine kite use of the area throughout the year.
The work is carried out in all but the most extremely bad weather conditions to see how weather influences use of the site. Of particular interest is how kites use the wind farm area during times of poor visibility, especially in mist. So for us, mist, even heavy mist, is not considered “bad” weather. In more extreme weather conditions the kites are monitored from a fixed point at the bottom of the study area that affords good radio tracking coverage of the site.
In 2006 turbines were erected, and since then a local worker has been employed to search under turbines for any evidence of bird strike, and research is being carried out into observer efficiency and scavenging rates by kites and other animals at the site. These will help us determine minimum impact to birds due to collision, and give us some insight into the factors that may affect our recovery rate of carcasses, if there are any. Click here to access our Research Information Note page and view details of our turbine search methodology.
Turbine searches in 2007-2008 revealed a number of strikes including a five year old kite, a buzzard, two kestrels, two meadow pipits, a siskin and most interestingly, a soprano pipestrelle bat (Pipistrellus pygmaeus). Judging from the their states of decomposition, the small victims had lain there for days, if not weeks.
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| Red kite turbine strike |
Photo by M. Steward |
For more information contact K. Duffy:
kevin.duffy@natural-research.org
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