Did you know?
About the Slobs
- The Wexford Slobs and Wildfowl Reserve in Castlebridge, County Wexford are a natural haven for birds
- The area is renowned for the wide diversity and density of its birdlife so we headed down to see what was happening with birdwatcher Aoife who works alongside wind farms more specifically wind farms & their potential risk to birds.
Wind farms and it’s effects on birds
- Well-sited wind farms have limited effects on birds.
- Onshore wind farms can pose potential risks to birds, but there are in-depth environmental assessments before building any new wind farms and cutting-edge technology to better understand the interaction between birds and turbines so that wind farms can be optimally sited.
- Well-sited wind farms have limited effects on birds. To find out more about how turbines impact birds, there are several surveys done to develop new innovative technology to gather more and better bird life data at our windfarms.
- While wind turbines can present potential risks to birds, climate change, which threatens many species with extinction, poses a far greater threat.
- One in five of Europe’s bird species are at risk of extinction due to a combination of factors, including habitat loss and climate change, according to a 2021 analysis by BirdLife International.
- The transition from fossil fuels to clean energy is one of the biggest steps we can take to limit these changes – but we must do it right, in balance with nature.
- Wind farms can present three potential risks to birds: Collision or interaction with turbine blades, habitat loss through wind farm construction and operation or displacement of migratory routes.
- Through close collaboration between governments, conservation agencies, and renewable energy developers, rigorous guidelines have been set for bird surveys to look for those potential risks at proposed wind farm sites.
Find out more information:
- https://birdwatchireland.ie/our-work/nature-reserves/nature-reserves-wexford-wildfowl-reserve/
- https://www.wexfordwildfowlreserve.ie/wildlife-2/
