Open AccessUsing weather radar to help minimize wind energy impacts on nocturnally migrating birds
Author(s) -
Cohen Emily B.,
Buler Jeffrey J.,
Horton Kyle G.,
Loss Scott R.,
CabreraCruz Sergio A.,
Smolinsky Jaclyn A.,
Marra Peter P.
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
conservation letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.153
H-Index - 79
ISSN - 1755-263X
DOI - 10.1111/conl.12887
Subject(s) - wind power , habitat , radar , shore , environmental science , environmental resource management , geography , meteorology , ecology , computer science , oceanography , geology , telecommunications , biology
As wind energy rapidly expands worldwide, information to minimize impacts of this development on biodiversity is urgently needed. Here we demonstrate how data collected by weather radar networks can inform placement and operation of wind facilities to reduce collisions and minimize habitat‐related impacts on nocturnally migrating birds. We found over a third of nocturnal migrants flew through altitudes within the rotor‐swept zone surrounding the North American Great Lakes, a continentally important migration corridor. Migrating birds concentrated in terrestrial stopover habitats within 20‐km from shorelines, a distance well beyond the current guidelines for construction of new land‐based facilities, and their distributions varied seasonally and at local and regional scales, creating predictable opportunities to minimize impacts from wind energy development and operation. Networked radar data are available across the United States and other countries and broad application of this approach could provide information critical to bird‐friendly expansion of this globally important energy source.