By Paul Homewood
h/t Philip Bratby
From The Mail:
The mystery of why more than 80,000 bats are killed by wind turbines in the UK each year may finally have been solved.
Scientists found the winged creatures are naturally drawn to sources of red light – an attraction that can confuse them on migration routes.
Turbines use blinking red lights to ward off low-flying aircrafts at night.
Experts now believe this light source lures bats into the path of the blades, which spin at speeds of up to 170mph .
ccording to the latest findings, switching to ‘on-demand’ lighting that only turns on when a plane approaches could cut the number of bats killed by turbines each year.
Previously it was thought the animals switched off their sonar at higher altitudes because they did not expect to run into any obstacles.
Contrary to myth, bats aren’t completely blind.
In fact, previous research has shown that depending on the circumstances, bats sometimes prefer using their eyesight to sound when hunting – though they can only see certain wavelengths of light.
The mystery of why five million bats are killed annually by wind turbines may finally have been solved. Scientists found the winged creatures are drawn to red light – an attraction that may confuse them on migration routes (stock image)
Researchers at the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, in Berlin, Germany, say bats are particularly at risk of turbine collisions during migration flights.
‘Bats are at a higher collision risk at wind power stations during their autumn migration,’ said Oliver Lindecke, co-author of the study.
‘Our study indicates that the use of red light signals could have fatal consequences for them as this appears to attract them to operating wind turbines.
‘Existing light signals could easily be replaced by bat friendly alternatives, or context-dependent illumination could be deployed which is only activated if planes or helicopters are approaching a wind power plant.’
A survey of 29 UK wind farms showed 194 bats were killed a month in 2016 – a figure that is likely higher than reported because many of the dead creatures would have been cleared up by scavengers.
If extrapolated to all of Britain’s onshore wind farms it could mean as many as 80,000 bats a year are killed annually.
Even if the small creatures avoid a direct collision with the 650-foot-high (200m) steel structures, they are often killed by jarring air pressures created by the spinning blades, which can cause fatal lung damage.
Similar research found that 600,000 bats could be killed by wind turbines every years in the United States.
Full story here.
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August 29, 2018 at 08:51AM
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