A very, very rare bird suffers death by wind turbine.

  • Hey Guest, Early bird pricing on the Summer Moot (29th July - 10th August) available until April 6th, we'd love you to come. PLEASE CLICK HERE to early bird price and get more information.

Toddy

Mod
Mod
Jan 21, 2005
38,996
4,650
S. Lanarkshire
Y'know ? you have to wonder how, in all the airspace in all of the world, that one wee bird manages to find on windturbine blade :dunno:
Is there some weird mesmeric magnestism involved ? and wasn't it just so timely that some adroit wee reported managed to find out about it too ?

Nothing 'trumped' up about it.

M
 

resnikov

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Whilst any wildlife death attributed to man is a shame, maybe that species of bird is just not that bright (whole of the sky to fly in and it hits a blade) and its evolution taking its cause.

Or maybe it had a heart attack in flight, then flew in to the blade. So it was going to die already but we are just blaming us?
 

Goatboy

Full Member
Jan 31, 2005
14,956
17
Scotland
Whilst any wildlife death attributed to man is a shame, maybe that species of bird is just not that bright (whole of the sky to fly in and it hits a blade) and its evolution taking its cause.

Or maybe it had a heart attack in flight, then flew in to the blade. So it was going to die already but we are just blaming us?

Wasn't necessarily a "strike" that caused death. Could've been pressure variance LINK, Bats are especially prone to this and I imagine that a wee birdy could face similar problems.


Bloody useless things anyway wind turbines - total window-dressing.
 

resnikov

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Wasn't necessarily a "strike" that caused death. Could've been pressure variance LINK, Bats are especially prone to this and I imagine that a wee birdy could face similar problems.

Thats why I love the site, you learn something new every time you visit.

Bloody useless things anyway wind turbines - total window-dressing.

Got disagree there, but lets not get in to an argument and just agree to disagree.
 

Humpback

On a new journey
Dec 10, 2006
1,231
0
67
1/4 mile from Bramley End.
Toddy
I don't think this "trumped up" as such. A rare visitor has been reported on the birding sites I frequent and had no doubt attracted a lot of interest. I'm also sure the bird will have followed the insects it eats and would not understand the circular geometry the turbine blades make.
Beautiful bird.
 

Bushwhacker

Banned
Jun 26, 2008
3,882
8
Dorset
Ehh but Bushwhacker, if we are banning the Patois, how will we understand your strange dialect?

I can always remember supervising a job up in Cowdenbeath. Couldn't understand a word anybody was saying. Christ knows what I was nodding, smiling and agreeing to!
 

Bushwhacker

Banned
Jun 26, 2008
3,882
8
Dorset
Takes about a week to get your ears to really 'hear' Cowdenbeath, I find :rolleyes:
Nice folks though :)

M

They were friendly enough, just couldn't understand a thing. It was like they were speaking in tongues.

Back to the birdie, doesn't it look just like a Stealth bomber in profile?
 

Goatboy

Full Member
Jan 31, 2005
14,956
17
Scotland
Must admit I knew nowt about them but have had a wee read up and quite a bird. Fastest bird in flapping flight! Your right though Bushwacker it does have a fantastic shape, very elegant but extremely purposeful.
 

mountainm

Bushcrafter through and through
Jan 12, 2011
9,990
12
Selby
www.mikemountain.co.uk
Must admit I knew nowt about them but have had a wee read up and quite a bird. Fastest bird in flapping flight! Your right though Bushwacker it does have a fantastic shape, very elegant but extremely purposeful.


Classic aerodynamic tear-drop shape, I wonder if it suffers from lack of manoeuvrability, hence the crash.
 

daveO

Native
Jun 22, 2009
1,457
522
South Wales
They were friendly enough, just couldn't understand a thing. It was like they were speaking in tongues.

Back to the birdie, doesn't it look just like a Stealth bomber in profile?

I like playing this game. House Martins always look like Red Arrows to me and Buzzards have got to be some kind of bomber. :cool:
 
P

Passer

Guest
Whilst any death of a uncommon bird( to us) is regrettable it certainly isn`t unusual. Being in the wrong region( this bird should have been much further East), make such birds susceptible to predation and the like.
Some species of swifts are known to roost on the wing, although I couldn`t be sure regarding needletails. This would make for a real hazard if in the vicinity of turbines.
Another thing to consider, for this bird to arrive here, rather than it`s natural range, suggests possible disorientation. Would it be able to find the correct prey items to survive, or even find it`s way back to it`s wintering quarters.
It`s possible this bird was on borrowed time.
 
Feb 15, 2011
3,860
2
Elsewhere
A bird capable of flying all the way from southern Asia or even Australia to it's breeding grounds further North, couldn't avoid a wind turbine.?......must have been a dud one. :rolleyes:

Was a necropsy carried out to confirm that the wind turbine was indeed instrumental in the birds demise ? were there any witnesses to this drama ?......or was the corpse merely found at the base of a turbine & hasty conclusions were made ?.:rolleyes:
 
Last edited:

Wook

Settler
Jun 24, 2012
688
4
Angus, Scotland
I wonder how many rare birds would have to be killed by wind turbines before people would start to question the wisdom of said turbines ?

Had this bird had been killed by fracking, would its death have been met with so much shrugging?
 

BCUK Shop

We have a a number of knives, T-Shirts and other items for sale.

SHOP HERE