Night migrants in the presence of wind turbines
Rhonda will explore the response of night migrants (mainly birds) to the presence of wind turbines. Mortality does occur but at a small number of the turbines in a landscape and in some landscapes more than others. Where no mortality occurs, are fewer birds exposed to the turbines, or can birds avoid colliding with some turbines? Observed changes in behaviour seem to indicate that birds detect and respond to the presence of operating wind turbines. There is some evidence that the avoidance response is a result of learning and provided the turbines do not bisect an essential flight route where the animal is determined to fly, avoidance could improve over time. The significance of this avoidance is discussed Rhonda began working with radar and the calls of night migrants in 1996. The work she is presenting today is based on a Radar-Acoustic system that she developed in her Ph.D. in Physics and Environmental Sciences, at the Royal Military College of Canada. She founded EchoTrack Inc. in 2003 to apply the technology from her Ph.D. to migration research and environmental assessment, and now has several EchoTrack systems deployed in the field. Over the past 4 years she has specialized in the impact of wind development on birds and bats, monitoring in 21 different locations involving pre and post-installations, in prairie, forest and agricultural ecosystems, in four provinces, B.C., Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario. She holds several patents related to radar technology and wildlife control
