Bernd Atzenroth of central Germany’s online Märkische Allgemeine Zeitung (MAZ) reports on how a stork had its beak and main feathers chopped off by a wind turbine blade. So severe were the bird’s injuries that the animal had to be euthanized.
Photo of gruesomely injured bird
According to the online news site, the town of Struck is the location of a wildlife rescue center where injured animals are brought in for care. Sadly the MAZ writes: “On Friday it was a stork, but it could not be treated – that’s how bad the injuries were.”
The site features a photo of the gruesomely injured bird. If you’re looking for a poster-child for depicting the hazards of wind turbines to wildlife, this is it.
The MAZ describes the reaction of the directors at the wildlife rescue center:
Angie and Uwe Löblich of the wildlife rescue center in Struck are used to seeing a lot. But the appearance of a stork that had been delivered to them on Friday left them speechless. We were struck with horror to see that the white stork was missing almost half of its beak, likely it had been chopped off by a nearby wind turbine.’ Also the left main feathers were missing. ‘The beak and the main feathers had been cleanly chopped off, and there is no doubt that it must have flown into a wind turbine,’ Angie Löblich is certain.”
Nature conservation groups playing down the hazard
One might think that nature conservation groups would be alarmed and outraged by the incident, especially in view of the fact that worldwide wind turbines kill an estimated millions of birds and bats annually. But this is hardly the case. For example Germany’s flagship nature conservation group NABU plays down the problem, maintaining that it is small compared to the hazards created by automobiles. According to the MAZ, NABU continues its staunch support of wind energy and believes the problem can be solved with planning.
Rare, protected species falling victim
The MAZ writes that this stork was hardly the first victim and describes a crane having part of its head chopped off, and of multiple birds dying at the rescue center or having to be euthanized shortly after their arrival. Included among the victims of wind turbines are rare and protected birds such as the honey buzzard, goshawk and Red Kite.
Another example the horror of these environmental monsters.
I recall reading a couple of years ago that somewhere around 500,000 birds and 300,000 bats had run afoul and killed by wind turbines.
I hope someone can do an accurate census of such deaths that can be used to stop their construction.
The article says it is near impossible to get accurate data on the number of strikes and deaths. Often birds are hit and get taken away as prey during the night, thus making it difficult to count.
It should be easy to count with video surveillance. But German scientists are mostly followers of the Greens, which have turned from pretend nature protectionists to a simple me-too openly culturally Marxist movement; a move that the Green scientists have followed without asking questions. So there will never be a scientific survey.
“ difficult to count”
They don’t want a count, but the problem is becoming more difficult to hide.
No? Google Scholar shows many studies on bird deaths from turbines, just since 2011:
https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=%22bird+deaths%22+%2Bturbines&btnG=&hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C38&as_ylo=2011
Here’s one to think about:
“The avian benefits of wind energy: A 2009 update,” Benjamin K. Sovacool,Renewable Energy, Volume 49, January 2013, Pages 19–24.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960148112000857
To get an idea of the total mortality at wind farms:
http://savetheeaglesinternational.org/new/us-windfarms-kill-10-20-times-more-than-previously-thought.html
“Small compared to the hazards created by automobiles”
How many large raptors and storks have you seen splattered over the front of your car?
I hate it when my wipers have to scrape off another Red Kite from the windscreen of my VW Polo.
Fun news from the Planned Economy front (in German):
http://www.focus.de/finanzen/news/energie-biodiesel-hersteller-beklagen-produktionsrueckgang_id_4882389.html
Bio Diesel makers complain that they turn food into fuel so efficiently, leading to so large CO2 reductions per liter, that they sell less and less of it, as the market is rigged in such a way that a certain CO2 reduction is targeted. So fuel mixers buy less and less of the stuff. Demand DIFFERENT rigging! (Well why don’t you dolts just form a cartel and fudge your CO2 reduction numbers)
Estimates of U.S. annual bird deaths, by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (2002):
Building window strikes: 97-976 million per year
Communication towers: 4-5 million per year
Transmission lines: up to 174 million per year
Cars: up to 60 million per year
Pesticide poisoning: about 72 million per year
Oil and wastewater pits: up to 2 million per year
Cats: hundreds of millions per year
Source:
http://www.fws.gov/migratorybirds/CurrentBirdIssues/Hazards/Mortality-Fact-Sheet.pdf
The problem with windmills is that they are in natural areas and are often obstacles in the routes of migratory birds.
That’s speculation.
And the other numbers are so huge….
Greed energy blinds many.. those who claim to protect hapless wildlife but don’t are robbing future generations. https://lsarc.wordpress.com/2015/08/03/plunder-generation/
Number of bird deaths per TWh:
coal: 161
oil: 36
natural gas: 4
wind energy: 0.15
Source:
https://notrickszone.com/2011/03/24/nuclear-is-the-safest-form-of-energy-opposition-is-a-glaring-denial-of-reality/
Of course the numbers for wind power are much higher because, as the article states, it’s very difficult to count the casualties.
Why is it more diffficult to count casualities from wind turbines than from coal power?
I would think it’d be easier, with dead birds from turbines more likely to lie nearer the immediate cause of their demise.
Have they exterminated all the foxes and other scavengers in your area, David?
“and other scavengers in your area, David?”
No, David is still there.!!
“Why is it more diffficult to count casualities from wind turbines than from coal power?”
Wind park operators are known to collect the corpses. That’s not difficult. They know where each of their wind turbines is.
I though you libtards were the smartest analytic intellects in any room?
Pierre asserted the opposite — “Of course the numbers for wind power are much higher because, as the article states, it’s very difficult to count the casualties.”
We are thus really talking about an unsustainable death toll of 30 million birds and 50 million bats a year – and more still if we factor in other hide-the-mortality tricks documented by STEI. But we re unlikely ever to get an accurate figure because the wind industry takes such pains to cover up this embarrassing data.