In an article in The Spectator (a British publication, not the American Spectator), zoologist Clive Hambler notes:

“Wind turbines only last for ‘half as long as previously thought’, according to a new study. But even in their short life spans, those turbines can do a lot of damage. Wind farms are devastating populations of rare birds and bats across the world, driving some to the point of extinction. Most environmentalists just don’t want to know. Because they’re so desperate to believe in renewable energy, they’re in a state of denial. But the evidence suggests that, this century at least, renewables pose a far greater threat to wildlife than climate change.”

“Every year in Spain alone — according to research by the conservation group SEO/Birdlife — between 6 and 18 million birds and bats are killed by wind farms. They kill roughly twice as many bats as birds. This breaks down as approximately 110–330 birds per turbine per year and 200–670 bats per year. And these figures may be conservative if you compare them to statistics published in December 2002 by the California Energy Commission: ‘In a summary of avian impacts at wind turbines by Benner et al (1993) bird deaths per turbine per year were as high as 309 in Germany and 895 in Sweden.’”

This danger to birds and bats is not confined to Europe. An article in the Washington Times by Paul Driessen notes:

“The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and American Bird Conservancy say wind turbines kill 440,000 bald and golden eagles, hawks, falcons, owls, cranes, egrets, geese and other birds every year in the United States, along with countless insect-eating bats.

“New studies reveal that these appalling estimates are frightfully low and based on misleading or even fraudulent data. The horrific reality is that in the United States alone, “eco-friendly” wind turbines kill an estimated 13 million to 39 million birds and bats every year.”

In the recent “fiscal cliff” negotiations, it seems crony capitalism triumphed over good sense. Lobbying by the wind industry saved its subsidy, the Production Tax Credit, which was set to expire at the end of 2012. The “cliff” deal now extends that subsidy through 2013 thus costing American taxpayers $12 billion, and encouraging use of a very expensive, very unreliable, and to wildlife, a very lethal form of “green” energy production.

See also:

(human) Health Hazards of Wind Turbines

Electricity generated by wind power may raise temperatures and costs

Wind farms raise local and regional temperatures

Thorium, another alternative energy choice

I’m told by museum staff that this individual heron can’t fly because he was injured as a chick. Apparently, an eagle snatched him out of the nest and flew away with him, but something caused the eagle to let go. The baby heron fell to the ground which resulted in a broken wing and a broken leg. Fortunately, this happened at a place where the injured chick was soon discovered and brought to a vet for rehabilitation. The injury to the wing, however, was not fully fixable. So, this particular heron individual now has a good job at ASDM.

Although one might not expect to see a Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) in the Sonoran Desert, they have an extensive range (see map below) and occur throughout much of North and Central America wherever there is water.

The Great Blue Heron is a big bird. It stands 45- to 54 inches tall and has a wingspan of 66- to 79 inches. It weighs 5- to 8 pounds.

Normally, these herons feed on fish while standing or wading in water. They have a very quick head and neck thrust as they stab with their long bill. They also feed in open fields and go after amphibians, reptiles, insects, rodents, and other birds.

According to ASDM: “Great Blue Herons breed in colonies. The male chooses the nest site and displays to attract a female. The nest site is typically in a tree 20 to 60 feet above the ground or water, although shrubs are also used as nest sites. The female lays three to five eggs in a platform nest made of sticks. The eggs, which are incubated by both parents, hatch in 25 to 30 days. The young are fed regurgitated matter by both parents. Young are able to fly after about two months.”

According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: “Great Blue Herons are most vocal on the breeding grounds, where they greet their partner with squawking roh-roh-rohs in a ‘landing call’ when arriving at the nest. A disturbance can trigger a series of clucking go-go-gos, building to a rapid frawnk squawk that can last up to 20 seconds. If directly threatened, birds react with a screaming awk lasting just over 2 seconds. Chicks give a tik-tik-tik call within minutes of hatching.

“Both male and female Great Blue Herons snap their bill tips together as part of breeding and territorial displays, a behavior that may be analogous to a songbird’s territorial song. Paired birds often ‘clapper’ at each other, chattering the tips of the bill together.” Listen to the sounds here courtesy of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

You can see this heron in both saltwater and freshwater habitats, from open coasts, marshes, sloughs, riverbanks, and lakes to backyard goldfish ponds. I know one person in Tucson who has seen them in the backyard ponds. They also forage in grasslands and agricultural fields.

Come out to the Desert Museum and greet its newest resident.

See also:

American Kestrel

Barn Owls

Cactus Wren

Gambels Quail

The greater roadrunner, a wily predator

Harris’ Hawks, Wolves of the Air

Observations on Mourning Doves

Parrots in the desert?

Way of the Hummingbird

Western Screech Owl

Clever Horned Lizard

Rattlesnakes

Speckled Rattlesnakes

Metachromatic spiny lizards

Venomous Lizards

 ASDM invites you to: “Spend the day enjoying raptor programs, live bat encounters and lectures, tequila tasting, hummingbirds, live bugs, special presentations, hands-on science exploration and much more! Families of all ages can enjoy fun winged-themed arts and crafts projects. There will be a special menu at the Ironwood Restaurant that will give you the opportunity to enjoy a meal that is directly connected to biodiversity while you enjoy live music throughout the Museum grounds.”

Take a free photography class October 15 & 16 at 10:00 a.m. (Pre-registration required).

Did you know that the bumblebee bat is the smallest mammal or that butterflies taste with their feet? You may be wondering what tequila tasting has to do with flight. Tequila and similar spirits come from agave plants which are pollinated by bats, hummingbirds, moths, bees, and other insects.

Come to ASDM and learn many surprising facts.

See the Desert Museum Festival of Flight page which includes some natural history and a schedule of events here.

See description and schedules for other daily events here.

The normal daily Raptor Free Flight program will resume after its summer hiatus on October 14th, and continue through April 15th, 2012 (10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. daily, weather permitting).

 See you there.  

All photos from ASDM Digital Library.

ASDM’s digital library has photos and information about plants, animals, minerals, and biotic communities. Check it out.

 Currently only about 2% of electricity in the U.S. is generated by wind power, but the Department of Energy estimates that as much as 20% of electricity could be generated by wind by 2030. (That estimate may be just wishful thinking.) To generate 20% of our electricity by wind power would require installation of millions of turbines across the U.S.

The M.I.T. researchers say that “using wind turbines to meet 10 percent of global energy demand in 2100 could cause temperatures to rise by one degree Celsius in the regions on land where the wind farms are installed, including a smaller increase in areas beyond those regions.” The researchers also suggest that the intermittency of wind power could require significant and costly backup options, such as natural gas-fired power plants.

 Wind turbines disrupt air flow. The researchers say that the “temperature increase occurs because the wind turbines affect two processes that play critical roles in determining surface temperature and atmospheric circulation: vertical turbulent motion and horizontal heat transport. Turbulent motion refers to the process by which heat and moisture are transferred from the land or ocean surface to the lower atmosphere. Horizontal heat transport is the process by which steady large-scale winds transport excessive heat away from warm regions, generally in a horizontal direction, and redistribute it to cooler regions. This process is critical for large-scale heat redistribution, whereas the effects of turbulent motion are generally more localized.”

In the press release for the paper the researchers explain:

“In the analysis, the wind turbines on land reduced wind speed, particularly on the downwind side of the wind farms, which reduced the strength of the turbulent motion and horizontal heat transport processes that move heat away from the Earth’s surface. This resulted in less heat being transported to the upper parts of the atmosphere, as well as to other regions farther away from the wind farms. The effect is similar to being at the beach on a windy summer day: If the wind weakened or disappeared, it would get warmer.

In contrast, when examining ocean-based wind farms, Prinn and Wang found that wind turbines cooled the surface by more than one degree Celsius. They said that these results are unreliable, however, because in their analysis, they modeled the effects of wind turbines by introducing surface friction in the form of large artificial waves. But they acknowledge that this is not an accurate comparison, meaning that a better way of simulating marine-based wind turbines must be developed before reliable conclusions can be made.”

The researchers also said that large-scale wind farms would disrupt precipitation patterns, particularly at the mid-latitudes in the northern hemisphere.

Citation: Wang, C. and Prinn, R. G.: Potential climatic impacts and reliability of very large-scale wind farms, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 10, 2053-2061, 2010.

See full paper here: http://tinyurl.com/yz7sgt8

Another downside to wind turbines is their effect on wildlife, particularly birds of prey. An article in the London Telegraph notes that “The world’s largest and most carefully monitored wind farm, Altamont Pass in California, is estimated to have killed between 2,000 and 3,000 golden eagles alone in the past 20 years.” The article further notes that “Spain has one of the three highest concentrations of turbines in Europe and, according to the Spanish Ornithological Society, they may be killing up to a million birds a year.”

See the Telegraph article here: http://tinyurl.com/yjktby2

Finally, electricity generated from wind turbines is more expensive than fossil fuel or nuclear generation. The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that for commercial electricity generation plants that begin operations from 2015 to 2020, wind generation will cost $94 per megawatt hour capacity, versus $78 for gas, $69 for coal, and $72 for nuclear. (Source: IEA, 2009 World Energy Outlook). The U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration estimates are higher. EIA estimates the cost of new generation will be $149 per megawatt hour capacity for wind, $83 for gas, $100 for coal, and $119 for nuclear. (Source: EIA, 2010 Energy Outlook).