Library filed under Impact on Wildlife from Europe
The European Commission's Habitats Directive places the harbour porpoise on a special annex requiring special areas of conservation. ...Almost uniquely the UK is not among them. It's about wind farms. The Government is mad on them. Offshore wind farms are the answer to everything and nothing must get in their way. And wind farming can affect porpoises.
WDCS remains concerned about the impact that these large developments in the marine environment will have on cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises). ...habitat loss caused by the presence of the structures, WDCS is concerned about the high potential for cetaceans to be disturbed and displaced by noise introduced into their environment from the construction and operation of offshore wind farms, due to their high acoustic sensitivity.
We support the increased protection proposed for national parks and national scenic areas, though this merely formalises the present de facto position. Such protection should apply also where development is proposed beyond their boundaries ...the current greatest threat is large onshore wind developments.
The RSPB hopes that the windmills will be beneficial to birds and other wildlife in the long run Twitchers had flocked to the Outer Hebrides for a glimpse of the world's fastest-flying bird, a white-throated needletail, only spotted on these shores eight times since 1846.
There had been only eight recorded sightings of the white-throated needletail in the UK since 1846. So when one popped up again on British shores this week, twitchers were understandably excited. A group of 40 enthusiasts dashed to the Hebrides to catch a glimpse of the brown, black and blue bird, which breeds in Asia and winters in Australasia.
"It was seen by birders fly straight into the turbine. It is ironic that after waiting so long for this bird to turn up in the UK, it was killed by a wind turbine and not a natural predator. "It is tragic. More than 80 people had already arrived on the island and others were coming from all over the country. But it just flew into the turbine. It was killed instantly."
The Scottish government came under pressure last night not to cave in to the renewables industry, as a poll indicated overwhelming support for wind farms to be banned from wild land. Environmentalists privately fear that Alex Salmond, the First Minister, could backtrack on pledges to protect scenic areas from turbines in the face of strong lobbying by the green energy sector.
I wonder what it will take before the world truly wakes up to the horror, the corruption, the expense, the pointlessness, the total wrongness-in-every-way of the wind industry. My guess - and it will happen - is the decapitation, by a rogue turbine blade, of an innocent passer-by.
The slain young eagle was likely one of the six white-tailed eagles in a row, "said Pedersen, who follows bird migration in Skagen daily.
A young eagle was cut in two by a spinning windmill in Skagen. Danish Ornithological Society is in turmoil and believes that poorly sited wind turbines may cost several birds. The dead bird with a wingspan of 2.25 meters was found on the ground Sunday morning.
Campaigners against the "further industrialisation" of the Scottish landscape by wind turbines have reacted sceptically to claims of an about turn on the issue by Alex Salmond. ..."If things are going to change, we would also like to see the guideline that suggests wind turbines should be at least 2km from homes being made mandatory. At the moment that guideline is routinely trampled over."
Windfarm protesters Fran Raw and Dr Angela Armstrong told last week's meeting of Port William Community Council that the identification of "20 EU protected species" around the proposed site of a windfarm locally could help them stop the development going ahead.
Angling, wildlife and heritage groups dispute claims by developers that new proposal is environmentally friendly Angling, wildlife and heritage groups on Thursday attacked new proposals for a £34bn tidal barrage across the Severn estuary, with one telling MPs that environmental benefits touted by proponents of the barrage are "spin" and "guff".
Why is the public not more aware of this carnage? First, because the wind industry (with the shameful complicity of some ornithological organisations) has gone to great trouble to cover it up - to the extent of burying the corpses of victims. Second, because the ongoing obsession with climate change means that many environmentalists are turning a blind eye to the ecological costs of renewable energy.
Investigations suggest that both birds were fatally injured as a result of mid-air collisions with the turbine blades. A spokesman for the organisation said the deaths were "tragic" and would have an impact on the local breeding success of an already vulnerable species which is "teetering on the brink of extinction".
The study found that on the whole gannets flew in the same direction and for the same distance but they vary significantly in the amount of time they spend searching for food which suggests that individual gannets do not depend on specific feeding sites.
Scottish scientists are calling for national guidelines to help protect bats and birds from mini wind turbines on homes. Researchers at the University of Stirling Research found widespread variation in how councils handle planning applications, with some routinely asking for ecological surveys, while others rarely did so.
Scientists at Stirling University are suggesting new national guidelines be drawn up to protect bats and birds from domestic wind turbine developments. Research by the School of Natural Sciences found wide variations in the planning processes for micro-turbines.
Seismic surveys could be disorientating the whales and driving them to their deaths on the beaches of Fife and Angus, Scotland, the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society said. A number of vessels have been carrying out the high-tech scans in the Firth of Forth and North Sea in recent weeks. Seventeen pilot whales died after a mass beaching in the East Neuk of Fife earlier this month.
RSPB and SNH withdrew their objections to the proposal when the developer reduced the number of turbines from 42. RSPB had voiced concerns they would have an impact on the population of protected golden eagles.