Myth:
Wind turbines kill large numbers of birds, particularly big predators like eagles.
Fact:
Wind turbines do kill birds, but the number killed pales when compared with other threats they face. In the United States, cats kill an average of 2.4 billion birds every year, and collisions with glass on buildings kill another 599 million. Wind turbines, by contrast, kill just 234,000. In Australia, the figures are even starker. Wind turbines kill a maximum of 10,000 birds a year, while feral cats kill 377 million!
There are also ways to reduce avian fatalities from wind turbines. These include painting the towers or the blades black and using artificial intelligence to slow the blades down when flocks of birds are approaching. Painting the towers can reduce fatalities by almost 50 percent, while doing the same with one of the blades can reduce them by 70 percent.
A wind turbine with red stripes. The stripes are to alert birds to the turbine’s presence. [Source: Roboflow Universe]
Sources:
Joshua S. Hill, “Artificial intelligence tech gets gong for stopping wind turbines hitting birds,” Renew Economy, 27/6/23
Sophie Vorrath, “Wind project proposes turbine shut down system to protect wedge-tailed eagles,” Renew Economy, 14/8/23
Rachel Williamson, “Tasmania wind farm ditches bird radar for new technology to avoid eagle collisions,” Renew Economy, 21/12/23
Hannah Ritchie, “How many birds do wind farms kill?” Sustainability by Numbers, 31/1/24
Caitlin Fitzsimmons, “Science evens the game in birds v blades,” Sydney Morning Herald, 22/7/24
Sophie Vorrath, “Wind farm bird protection tech a success, with no new eagle deaths and barely a dent in revenue,” Renew Economy, 10/7/25
“‘Birds avoid turbines’: Two new studies suggest wind farms are not ‘killing machines’ after all,” Renew Economy, 13/4/26