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Is the focus on raptors and migratory species at wind ...€¦ · Is the focus on raptors and...

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Is the focus on raptors and migratory species at wind energy facilities justified? By Vonica Perold 1 , Samantha Ralston-Paton 2 and Peter G Ryan 1 1 FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology (University of Cape Town) 2 BirdLife South Africa Presentation to Conference on Wind Energy and Wildlife Impacts Stirling, Scotland, August 2019 The diversity of birds killed by wind turbine collisions in South Africa
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Page 1: Is the focus on raptors and migratory species at wind ...€¦ · Is the focus on raptors and migratory species at wind energy facilities justified? By Vonica Perold1, Samantha Ralston-Paton2and

Is the focus on raptors and migratory species at wind energy facilities justified?

By Vonica Perold1, Samantha Ralston-Paton2 and Peter G Ryan1

1 FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology (University of Cape Town)2 BirdLife South Africa

Presentation to Conference on Wind Energy and Wildlife ImpactsStirling, Scotland, August 2019

The diversity of birds killed by wind turbine collisions in South Africa

Page 2: Is the focus on raptors and migratory species at wind ...€¦ · Is the focus on raptors and migratory species at wind energy facilities justified? By Vonica Perold1, Samantha Ralston-Paton2and

If everything is importantnothing is.

Page 3: Is the focus on raptors and migratory species at wind ...€¦ · Is the focus on raptors and migratory species at wind energy facilities justified? By Vonica Perold1, Samantha Ralston-Paton2and

Which species are most at risk from turbine collisions?⇢ Planning, EIA, research & conservation action.

Page 4: Is the focus on raptors and migratory species at wind ...€¦ · Is the focus on raptors and migratory species at wind energy facilities justified? By Vonica Perold1, Samantha Ralston-Paton2and

For example: Thaxter et al. 2017

Meta- analysis of 93 terrestrial WEFs

• Asia: 2 • Australasia: 2• South America: 1• Africa: 1 (1 turbine!)

To date research focused on Europe and North America

Page 5: Is the focus on raptors and migratory species at wind ...€¦ · Is the focus on raptors and migratory species at wind energy facilities justified? By Vonica Perold1, Samantha Ralston-Paton2and

Annual installed wind energy capacity by region:

Page 6: Is the focus on raptors and migratory species at wind ...€¦ · Is the focus on raptors and migratory species at wind energy facilities justified? By Vonica Perold1, Samantha Ralston-Paton2and

Installed Renewable Energy Capacity

CSP 400MW

PV 2 559 MW

Wind 2 049 MW

Hydro (740 MW)

Adapted from:: http://resourceirena.irena.org/gateway/countrySearch/?countryCode=ZAF

Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP)

Page 7: Is the focus on raptors and migratory species at wind ...€¦ · Is the focus on raptors and migratory species at wind energy facilities justified? By Vonica Perold1, Samantha Ralston-Paton2and

11 500 –17 000 MW

by 2030

South Africa’sIntegrated Resource Plan

Wind15%

Other renewabl

esOther

(e.g. coal &

nuclear)

2030targets Approx. 3800 turbines?

Page 8: Is the focus on raptors and migratory species at wind ...€¦ · Is the focus on raptors and migratory species at wind energy facilities justified? By Vonica Perold1, Samantha Ralston-Paton2and

Wind Energy: Installed Capacity

Page 9: Is the focus on raptors and migratory species at wind ...€¦ · Is the focus on raptors and migratory species at wind energy facilities justified? By Vonica Perold1, Samantha Ralston-Paton2and

Birds at risk in USA and Europe

Fatalities vs species exposed to risk:46% USA (AWWI, 2019).18-21% Tasmania, Australia* (Hull et al. 2013)

*2 WEFS

• Limited migration of terrestrial birds in Southern Hemisphere. • South Africa - end of migratory route, no “bottlenecks”.• Can we expect to see fewer fatalities, and a smaller proportion of

species exposed to risk killed?

Raptors

Migratory species

Page 10: Is the focus on raptors and migratory species at wind ...€¦ · Is the focus on raptors and migratory species at wind energy facilities justified? By Vonica Perold1, Samantha Ralston-Paton2and

Jenkins et al. 2015

Avifaunal specialists: Monitoring reports

Update database, analysis, information feedback

Wind farm developers and operators

• Summarise turbine collision fatality data

• Systematic searches & incidental (<3%)• Fatality rate estimates*

*not weighted by bird size or type

WEF Planning & EIAs,

conservation, research.

Methods

Page 11: Is the focus on raptors and migratory species at wind ...€¦ · Is the focus on raptors and migratory species at wind energy facilities justified? By Vonica Perold1, Samantha Ralston-Paton2and

20 Wind Energy Facilities825 Turbines

5 Biomes

Perold et al, in prep

Monitoring:2014 – 2018

3-48 months monitoring1101 “turbine years”

Mean search radius of 187±32 m

Jenkins et al. 2015

Wind energy facility (WEF) specs:Mean capacity per WEF: 91 ± 37.4 MW Turbines per WEF: 7-96Hub height: 87.6 ±9 .8 mRotor diameter: 103 ± 10.7 m

Page 12: Is the focus on raptors and migratory species at wind ...€¦ · Is the focus on raptors and migratory species at wind energy facilities justified? By Vonica Perold1, Samantha Ralston-Paton2and

Post

Species potentially exposed to risk:

Southern African Bird Atlas Project (SABAP, sabap2.adu.org.za),

Pre-construction monitoring

(12 WEFS)

Post-construction monitoring

(20 WEFS)

Walked transects, vehicle-based transects, focal site surveys, vantage point surveys and incidental observations (Jenkins et al. 2015).

Quarter-degree grid cell Citizen Science ProjectMultiple years

Vagrants, out of range

species & seabirds

Page 13: Is the focus on raptors and migratory species at wind ...€¦ · Is the focus on raptors and migratory species at wind energy facilities justified? By Vonica Perold1, Samantha Ralston-Paton2and

Cumulative number of species likely to be killed:

• iNEXT package (R package for rarefaction and extrapolation of species diversity, Hsieh et al. 2016).

• Species accumulation curve• Per WEF site and for the region.

Species exposed to risk

Carcasses

Species lists:

Page 14: Is the focus on raptors and migratory species at wind ...€¦ · Is the focus on raptors and migratory species at wind energy facilities justified? By Vonica Perold1, Samantha Ralston-Paton2and

• Crude rate: 1.0±0.6 birds/turbine/yr16 WEFs with at least 12 months of monitoring.

• Estimated (Huso 2011):

– 4.6±2.9 birds/turbine/yr– 2.0±1.3 birds/MW/yr

• Within range reported from USA and Europe– (e.g. Krijgsfeld et al. 2009 Loss et al. 2013,;

Everaert 2014; Aschwanden et al. 2018 Welcker et al. 2017).

Results: Fatality rates

Page 15: Is the focus on raptors and migratory species at wind ...€¦ · Is the focus on raptors and migratory species at wind energy facilities justified? By Vonica Perold1, Samantha Ralston-Paton2and

Common name Species name No.Bustard, Ludwig’s Neotis ludwigii 1Quail, Common Coturnix coturnix 6Stork, White Ciconia ciconia 6Swallow, Barn Hirundo rustica 3Cuckoo, Great Spotted Clamator glandarius 1Cuckoo, Jacobin Clamator jacobinus 1Buzzard, Common (Steppe) Buteo buteo 6

Eagle, Booted Hieraaetus pennatus 15

Falcon, Amur Falco amurensis 35Kestrel, Lesser Falco naumanni 2Kite, Yellow-billed Milvus aegyptius 6Swallow, Greater Striped Cecropis cucullata 4Swift, Common Apus apus 11Swift, Horus Apus horus 5Swift, White-rumped Apus caffer 28Tern, Common Sterna hirundo 2

Carcasses:19% of all carcasses migrants

Species:• 1 threatened species • 74 potentially exposed• 16 species (22%) killed.

• Migrants not more likely to be killed than resident species– c 2=1.86, df=1, P=0.12

Results: Migrant fatalitiesEndangered

List would include more (raptor) species if we used:

to define migratory species.

* as per Hockey et al. (2005), includes intra-African migrants, partial migrants & long-distance migrants

Page 16: Is the focus on raptors and migratory species at wind ...€¦ · Is the focus on raptors and migratory species at wind energy facilities justified? By Vonica Perold1, Samantha Ralston-Paton2and

Carcasses• 36% of carcasses found

– 20.6% Accipitridae (only family killed at all WEFs)

• 0.25 raptors/turbine/year (not adjusted for detection)

Results: Raptor fatalities

Common name Species Status(global,

regional)

Endemic No.

Buzzard, Jackal Buteo rufofuscus (*) 81Eagle, Martial Polemaetus bellicosus VU, EN 4Eagle, Verreaux’s Aquila verreauxii LC, VU 6Falcon, Lanner Falco biarmicus LC, VU 6Harrier, Black Circus maurus VU, EN (*) 6Secretarybird Sagittarius serpentarius VU, VU 1Vulture, Cape Gyps coprotheres EN, EN 10

Species• 25 species killed• 2 near endemic• 6 regionally threatened.

Raptor carcasses:

Page 17: Is the focus on raptors and migratory species at wind ...€¦ · Is the focus on raptors and migratory species at wind energy facilities justified? By Vonica Perold1, Samantha Ralston-Paton2and

• Endangered• ~ 8 800 mature adults

• Development pressure in Eastern Cape (Renewable Energy Development Zones)

Cape Vulture(Gyps coprotheres)

Old world vultures & WEFs elsewhere: • Egyptian Vulture (Neophron percnopterus)• Eurasian Griffon Vulture (Gyps fulvus)(Carrete et al. 2009, Carrete et al. 2012, Ferrer et al. 2012, Martenez-Abrain et al. 2012).

Page 18: Is the focus on raptors and migratory species at wind ...€¦ · Is the focus on raptors and migratory species at wind energy facilities justified? By Vonica Perold1, Samantha Ralston-Paton2and

Image credit: Warwick Tarboton

Black HarrierCircus maurus

• Endemic• Endangered • < 1 000 mature individuals

• Unexpected!

Page 19: Is the focus on raptors and migratory species at wind ...€¦ · Is the focus on raptors and migratory species at wind energy facilities justified? By Vonica Perold1, Samantha Ralston-Paton2and

Image credit: Steve Garvie

• Vulnerable• Large overlap with wind resource• <10 000 mature individuals in SA

Plus • fatalities due to electrocution!

Eagles & WEFs elsewhere: • Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) (e.g. Smallwood & Thelander, 2008; Smallwood, 2013)• White-tailed Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) (e.g. Hotker, Thomsen & Jeromin, 2006) • Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) (Pagel et al. 2013) • White-bellied Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus leucogaster) (Smales and Muir, 2005)

Verreauxs’ Eagle (Aquila verreauxii)

Page 20: Is the focus on raptors and migratory species at wind ...€¦ · Is the focus on raptors and migratory species at wind energy facilities justified? By Vonica Perold1, Samantha Ralston-Paton2and

Image credit: Rob Simmons

Martial Eagle(Polemaetus bellicosus)

• Endangered• ~ 800 pairs in SA

Page 21: Is the focus on raptors and migratory species at wind ...€¦ · Is the focus on raptors and migratory species at wind energy facilities justified? By Vonica Perold1, Samantha Ralston-Paton2and

No. species potentially

exposed

No. species killed

Diurnal raptors: 36 25 (69%)Accipitridae: 29 16 (55%)Falconidae: 9 7 (86%)

3 species:• Jackal Buzzard (Buteo rufofuscus)• Rock Kestrel (Falco rupicolus)• Amur Falcon (Falco amurensis)

20% of all carcasses found

Results: Raptor fatalities

Page 22: Is the focus on raptors and migratory species at wind ...€¦ · Is the focus on raptors and migratory species at wind energy facilities justified? By Vonica Perold1, Samantha Ralston-Paton2and

Photo credit: PimStouten

Buteo species at risk elsewhere:• Common Buzzard, B. buteo (Europe, Hötker et al. 2006; Ferrer et al. 2012; Welcker et al. 2017)• White-tailed Hawk, B. albicaudatus (Latin America, Ledec et al. 2011) • Red-tailed Hawks, B. jamaicensis (USA, Smallwood & Thelander 2008).

Jackal Buzzard (Buteo rufofuscus):

81 fatalities.

Almost 10% of all carcasses found.

60% of raptor carcasses

46% of all Accipitridae fatalities.

0.1 /turbine/year.Not threatened.

Endemic.

Page 23: Is the focus on raptors and migratory species at wind ...€¦ · Is the focus on raptors and migratory species at wind energy facilities justified? By Vonica Perold1, Samantha Ralston-Paton2and

But....

• Data not adjusted for size or group

• Carcasses persistence biased towards larger birds & raptors– easier to detect – longer persistence– raptors less palatable

(Smallwood 2007; Urquhart et al. 2015)

Page 24: Is the focus on raptors and migratory species at wind ...€¦ · Is the focus on raptors and migratory species at wind energy facilities justified? By Vonica Perold1, Samantha Ralston-Paton2and

* Families not affected mostly have few species.

A large diversity of species have been killed

No. potentially exposed

No. killed

Total species 440 130 (30%)(Range: 1-37%)

Total families* 86 46 (53%)

Apodidae (swifts) 7 6 (86%)

Galliformes (e.g. francolin, spurfowl) 7 5 (71%)

Columbidae (doves and pigeons) 11 6 (55%)

Alaudidae (larks) 16 8 (50%)

Sarothruridae (flufftails) 3 3 (100%)

Page 25: Is the focus on raptors and migratory species at wind ...€¦ · Is the focus on raptors and migratory species at wind energy facilities justified? By Vonica Perold1, Samantha Ralston-Paton2and

• Fatalities included some surprises, and

• Species not previously recorded:– on site: 29– in the area: 5 – secretive or hard to identify species

Image credit: Chris Krog

Page 26: Is the focus on raptors and migratory species at wind ...€¦ · Is the focus on raptors and migratory species at wind energy facilities justified? By Vonica Perold1, Samantha Ralston-Paton2and

42% of species in an area likely to be killed

iNEXT package (R package for rarefaction and extrapolation of species diversity, Hsieh et al. 2016).

Species richness: 128

Sample completeness: 0.94

Estimated no. spp: (± SE, 95% CI)

183.6 ± 22.1 (154.3 - 245.7)

440 species potentially exposed

Page 27: Is the focus on raptors and migratory species at wind ...€¦ · Is the focus on raptors and migratory species at wind energy facilities justified? By Vonica Perold1, Samantha Ralston-Paton2and

Risk of collisions not necessarily

= Population

impacts impacts.

Common species may indicate that rarer species in same group may also be at risk.

Page 28: Is the focus on raptors and migratory species at wind ...€¦ · Is the focus on raptors and migratory species at wind energy facilities justified? By Vonica Perold1, Samantha Ralston-Paton2and

Conclusion• Migrants not necessarily a priority in all regions. • Raptors should be a priority (despite biases in data)– Top predators, low densities, killed in relatively large numbers

& many threatened(e.g. Barrios & Rodriquez 2004; Smallwood & Thelander 2008; Beston et al. 2016; Watson et al. 2018).

– Prioritise endemic raptors for research?

• Don’t overlook other threatened species & habitats.

Page 29: Is the focus on raptors and migratory species at wind ...€¦ · Is the focus on raptors and migratory species at wind energy facilities justified? By Vonica Perold1, Samantha Ralston-Paton2and

White-winged FlufftailSarothrura ayresi

Critically EndangeredPopulation size: 50-249

“one of the worlds rarest birds”

Image credit: Warwick Tarboton

Page 30: Is the focus on raptors and migratory species at wind ...€¦ · Is the focus on raptors and migratory species at wind energy facilities justified? By Vonica Perold1, Samantha Ralston-Paton2and

Thank you!Co-authors: Vonica Perold, Prof. Peter Ryan

Birds and Renewable Energy Specialist Group: Andrew Jenkins, Andrew Pearson, Alvaro Camiña, Birgit Erni, Chris van Rooyen, Craig Whittington-

Jones, David Allan, Hanneline Smit-Robinson, Jon Smallie, Kevin Shaw, Lourens Leeuwner, Michael Brooks, Phoebe Barnard, Peter Ryan and

Theoni Photopoulou.Wind energy facilities for sharing the reports.

Department of Environmental Affairs

Julia Simmons

Contact: [email protected]


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