Question on windmills and birds

[mouse7]

Birds flying into windmill blades is their big problem.

Are their frequencies that birds can see in or hear in that people cannot detect? What about strobes or sound bursts in those frequencies to ward birds away?

[LuLu550]

1. I'm not a windmill expert,

but my guess is, the birds don't see the blades because sometimes they are "there" and sometimes they are not. By the time they get to where they think there is nothing but sky, the blade is in the way again.
Just my guess.

[DS1]

2. what if you ran lines between the windmill blades

with wiffle balls tied to them in random areas, to stop the birds from trying to fly through them

A shotgun would eliminate the problem also.

[Kellanved]

3. that is debunked

They myth is decades old. While some early mills did attract birds, modern ones no longer have that problem in a comparable extent.

A mill kills about one bird per year (.
For comparisons: windows kill several hundred millions birds per year - yet I have never head anything about it.

[girl gone mad]

4. thanks for asking this question.

We've been considering putting up a windmill for energy and that was one of my concerns. We have a lot if hawks that swoop down into our yard.

What kind of windmill are you looking at?

[democracyindanger]

5. Eyesight

I think. But maybe that's just some birds (hawkeye). I wonder if they've ever tried putting up a fake hawk or owl?

[amazona]

6. it is a serious problem

It's a serious problem that affects migratory birds, such as birds of prey, disproportionately.

Here is a link to one article on this issue:

http://www.naboertilvindmoller.dk/index_uk.html

Cell phone towers and "glass" skyscrapers also kill millions, if not billions, of birds worldwide each year. If you are on a flyway, you might have special reason to be concerned.

I would not put up a windmill -- nor would I likely be allowed to erect one without an environmental impact study first -- but I live in a very important flyway.

Unfortunately, the battle against the cell phone towers seems to be mostly lost. We kept them out for a few years but in the end they came. Sigh. Never had a chance at convincing architects that their "beautiful" glass towers should be less reflective.

The birds pay for our convenience, alas.

[Taeger]

7. Big ones with low frequencies

The big ones with low frequencies and slow turning blades shouldn't manifest any problems.

If you believe in evolution, you should believe that the descendents of small predatory dinosaurs should be able to avoid manmade edifices.

Environmentalists can't have it ALL ways. EVERY form of power has a negative aspect. Burning coal produces soot and CO2. Dams block Salmon from their spawning grounds. Nuclear power produces toxic waste. Solar panel production involves the use of toxic chemicals.

The big alternative is to cut down all the trees and burn them for fuel. Do you really want that.

So here's the big question. Is there ANY form of power production that environmentalists are for. Should we produce electricity with Oxen?????

[mouse7]

8. That's why I'm asking the question about non-human spectrum

Most animals see or hear in parts of the spectrum we can't. If there was a way to put strobe lights or out of frequency sound pulses to waard the birds away, it seems like a reasonable accommodation