The vision of birds, particularly those that hunt from the air, such as birds of prey, has not evolved to perceive large, moving structures in their environment, such as wind turbines. This is largely due to birds’ physiological limitations, such as low colour contrast detection abilities, combined with motion smear created by moving, un-patterned turbine blades. This makes these species vulnerable to blade collisions, which is particularly concerning for threatened species.
However, there may be a relatively simple solution on the horizon: experience in Norway suggests that painting (“patterning”) wind turbine blades can improve their visibility and reduce avifaunal fatalities. This exciting research spurred the South African Wind Energy Association (SAWEA) and BirdLife South Africa to join forces to encourage similar experiments at local wind farms in order to test, and ultimately prove, the effectiveness of this solution.
As an initial outcome of this initiative, SAWEA and BirdLife South Africa have compiled a briefing document for wind farm developers, environmental consultants, and decision-makers which outlines the key considerations of this innovative, low-tech approach to onsite mitigation.
