Bird Deaths at Wind Farms (Part 3)

The Smallwood Study Presents Highest Estimate of Bird Deaths to Date

The Research

In an earlier post, I mentioned the current research on bird deaths at wind farms. Scientists/industry have conducted five major studies to date:

• 2013 Smallwood Study: 573,000 bird deaths per year.

• 2013 Canadian Bird Mortality Study: 233,000 bird deaths per year, and habitat displacement of 57,000 breeding pairs.

• 2009 U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Study: 440,000 per year.

• 2013 Smithsonian-sponsored Study: 140,000 to 328,000 per year (limited to monopole turbines).

• Wind Industry Estimate: 58,000 per year.

Over the next several days, I'll discuss each study.  

The Smallwood Study:

In March 2013, biologist K. Shawn Smallwood published his study in the March 2013 issue of the Wildlife Society Bulletin. His estimate of bird fatalities at wind farms is the highest to date. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/wsb.260/abstract 

He estimates that, in 2012, turbines across the United States killed 573,000 birds, including 83,000 raptors. Smallwood’s number of bird deaths represents a 30 percent jump over the 440,000 fatalities estimated by a 2009 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service report.

Smallwood is featured in this video on the Altamont Pass wind farm.