Raptors and Land-Based Wind Energy in the United States

Wind energy is a critical element of a sustainable energy future; however, like many other energy resources, its development can have negative impacts on wildlife, including many avian species. Impacts to birds can be either direct through collision with wind turbine blades, or indirect through habitat loss from displacement or land use change. The associated infrastructure may pose additional hazards such as collisions with vehicles and electrocution from overhead distribution lines (Drewitt and Langston 2006; Smith and Dwyer 2016).

Some species of raptors are more vulnerable to collisions due to their flight patterns, physiology, and behavior. Many raptor species rely significantly on soaring flight, which is dependent on air currents. Unfortunately, these same air currents are often suitable for wind energy development, leading to an increased risk of collisions with wind turbines (Barrios and Rodriguez 2004; Péron et al. 2017). Additionally, the vision of raptors is more suited for focusing on distant objects, potentially diminishing their awareness of closer obstacles in their immediate vicinity, especially during hunting (Martin 2011; May et al. 2020). Moreover, raptors tend to have delayed sexual maturation and long life spans with relatively low reproductive capacity, resulting in populations that are slow to recover from additive mortality (Beston et al. 2016).

Download the Summary of Raptors and Land-Based Wind Energy in the United States here.

Additional Raptor Resources

Title	Author	Date Sort ascending	Content Type	Technology	Stressor	Receptor
A Population Study of Golden Eagles in the Altamont Pass Wind Resource Area: Second-Year Progress Report	Predatory Bird Research Group	July 1997	Report	Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind	Collision	Birds, Raptors
Assessing Impacts to Birds from the Buffalo Ridge, Minnesota Windplant Development	Erickson, W., Johnson, G., Strickland, M., Sarappo, S., Halet, R.	June 1997	Conference Paper	Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind		Birds, Passerines, Raptors, Waterfowl
Effects of Wind Turbines on Nesting Raptors at Buffalo Ridge in Southwestern Minnesota	Usgaard, R., Naugle, D., Osborn, R., Higgins, K.	January 1997	Journal Article	Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind	Habitat Change	Birds, Raptors
Using a Collision Model to Design Safer Wind Turbine Rotors for Birds	Tucker, V.	November 1996	Journal Article	Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind	Collision	Raptors, Birds
A Continued Examination of Avian Mortality in the Altamont Pass Wind Resource Area	Orloff, S., Flannery, A.	June 1996	Report	Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind	Collision	Birds, Raptors
A Pilot Golden Eagle Population Study in the Altamont Pass Wind Resource Area California	Predatory Bird Research Group	May 1995	Report	Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind	Collision, Displacement	Birds, Raptors
Whirly Birds	Linn, A.	March 1995	Magazine Article	Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind	Collision	Raptors, Birds
Avian use of proposed KENETECH and CARES wind farm sites in Klickitat County, Washington: Technical report	Jones & Stokes Associates Inc	January 1995	Report	Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind		Birds, Raptors, Waterfowl
Wind Turbine Effects on Avian Activity, Habitat Use, and Mortality in the Altamont Pass and Solano County Wind Resource Areas, 1989-1991	Orloff, S., Flannery, A.	March 1992	Report	Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind		Birds, Raptors
Assessment of Avian Use and Mortality Related to Wind Turbine Operations, Altamont Pass, Alameda and Contra Costa Counties, California, September 1988 through August 1989, Final Report	Howell, J., Didonato, J.	November 1991	Report	Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind	Collision	Birds, Raptors
Bird Movements and Collision Mortality at a Large Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine	Byrne, S.	January 1983	Journal Article	Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind	Collision	Waterfowl, Raptors, Passerines, Birds
Raptor Baseline Studies in Energy Development	Kennedy, P.	June 1980	Journal Article	Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind		Birds, Raptors