Took the weans a walk away up the back of The Three Towns in Ayrshire where they are installing these big bad boys.

  • GreyShack@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Most of the bird deaths are not actually physical strikes - it is a result of the massive change of air pressure as the blades pass at speed. Evidently painting one of the blades black - or some contrasting colour - keeps a lot of the birds well away.

    • FlanFlinger
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      1 year ago

      I walk my dogs daily around a windfarm with 16 turbines in it and have yet to see a dead bird

      • GreyShack@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        I realise that I had mis-remembered this. It is primarily bat deaths that are caused by the air pressure changes around turbines - not birds. This is because bats have a particularly large and thin lung internal membranes which gives them high efficiency. The rapid decompression in the immediate wake of the turbine blades - particularly towards the tips, which are the fastest moving part of course - damages this membrane.

        Birds have more compact lungs and hollow bones which aid in their breathing - a different solution to the efficiency problem and one that is not as susceptible to these pressure changes.