Significant effect on breeding tern colony due to collisions

• Main Authors: Joris Everaert, Eric W. M. Stienen
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2006
• Subjects: Breakwater; Common tern; Sterna hirundo
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.485.6228; http://docs.wind-watch.org/everaert_stienen-impactbirdszeebrugge.pdf

The original publication is available at www.springerlink.com We studied the impact of a wind farm (line of 25 small to medium sized turbines) on birds at the eastern port breakwater in Zeebrugge, Belgium, with special attention to the nearby breeding colony of Common Tern Sterna hirundo, Sandwich Tern Sterna sandvicensis and Little Tern Sterna albifrons. With the data of found collision fatalities under the wind turbines, and the correction factors for available search area, search efficiency and scavenging, we calculated that during the breeding seasons in 2004 and 2005, about 168 resp. 161 terns collided with the wind turbines located on the eastern port breakwater close to the breeding colony, mainly Common Terns and Sandwich Terns. The mean number of terns killed in 2004 and 2005 was 6.7 per turbine per year for the whole wind farm, and 11.2 resp. 10.8 per turbine per year for the line of 14 turbines on the sea-directed breakwater close to the breeding colony. The mean number of collision fatalities when including other species (mainly gulls) in 2004 and 2005 was 20.9 resp. 19.1 per turbine per year for the whole wind farm and 34.3 resp. 27.6 per turbine per year for 14 turbines on the sea-directed breakwater. The collision probability for Common Terns crossing the line of wind turbines amounted 0.110-0.118 % for