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Red kite (Milvus milvus) collision risk is higher at wind turbines with larger rotors and lower clearance, evidenced by GPS tracking

Škrábal, Jan ; Raab, Maximilian ; Raab, Rainhard ; Grüebler, Martin U. ; Kormann, Urs G. ; Scherler, Patrick ; Sumasgutner, Petra LU ; Åkesson, Susanne LU orcid ; Bermejo, Ana and Chakarov, Nayden LU , et al. (2025) In Biological Conservation 312.
Abstract

Wind turbines are important for achieving renewable energy goals, but present a considerable threat to wildlife, especially birds and bats. This study reports 41 confirmed collisions of GPS-tracked Red Kites (Milvus milvus) with wind turbines across Europe (2017–2024). We compared environmental and turbine-specific factors during collisions and non-collision movements within 500 m of turbines. Collisions occurred year-round, with the highest mean number of collisions per day during spring and autumn migration. Rotor clearance and diameter were significant predictors of collision risk: turbines with greater clearance exhibited lower probabilities of collision, likely due to reduced overlap with typical Red Kite flight altitudes. Based on... (More)

Wind turbines are important for achieving renewable energy goals, but present a considerable threat to wildlife, especially birds and bats. This study reports 41 confirmed collisions of GPS-tracked Red Kites (Milvus milvus) with wind turbines across Europe (2017–2024). We compared environmental and turbine-specific factors during collisions and non-collision movements within 500 m of turbines. Collisions occurred year-round, with the highest mean number of collisions per day during spring and autumn migration. Rotor clearance and diameter were significant predictors of collision risk: turbines with greater clearance exhibited lower probabilities of collision, likely due to reduced overlap with typical Red Kite flight altitudes. Based on our model, a 25.5 m increase in rotor diameter was associated with a fivefold increase in collision probability; mitigating this risk would require increasing rotor clearance by approximately 19.3 m. Variation in collision probability was greater between wind parks than between individual birds. No significant effects were found for cloud cover, precipitation, wind speed, or turbine density within 500 m. Our findings suggest that turbines with rotor diameters ≤90 m and clearances ≥60 m may pose a lower relative threat to Red Kites. Increasing rotor diameters without adjusting height restrictions reduces clearance and increases the risk of collisions. These results highlight the need for turbine designs minimizing overlap with bird flight heights and underscore the importance of legislative adjustments to height restrictions.

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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
GPS-telemetry, Human-wildlife conflict mitigation, Mortality, Raptor conservation, Renewable energy
in
Biological Conservation
volume
312
article number
111482
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • scopus:105015745226
ISSN
0006-3207
DOI
10.1016/j.biocon.2025.111482
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
Publisher Copyright: © 2025
id
7cb1932c-7fd7-42fe-92c8-3a412e3e7cb9
date added to LUP
2025-09-29 15:25:55
date last changed
2025-10-02 03:00:57
@article{7cb1932c-7fd7-42fe-92c8-3a412e3e7cb9,
  abstract     = {{<p>Wind turbines are important for achieving renewable energy goals, but present a considerable threat to wildlife, especially birds and bats. This study reports 41 confirmed collisions of GPS-tracked Red Kites (Milvus milvus) with wind turbines across Europe (2017–2024). We compared environmental and turbine-specific factors during collisions and non-collision movements within 500 m of turbines. Collisions occurred year-round, with the highest mean number of collisions per day during spring and autumn migration. Rotor clearance and diameter were significant predictors of collision risk: turbines with greater clearance exhibited lower probabilities of collision, likely due to reduced overlap with typical Red Kite flight altitudes. Based on our model, a 25.5 m increase in rotor diameter was associated with a fivefold increase in collision probability; mitigating this risk would require increasing rotor clearance by approximately 19.3 m. Variation in collision probability was greater between wind parks than between individual birds. No significant effects were found for cloud cover, precipitation, wind speed, or turbine density within 500 m. Our findings suggest that turbines with rotor diameters ≤90 m and clearances ≥60 m may pose a lower relative threat to Red Kites. Increasing rotor diameters without adjusting height restrictions reduces clearance and increases the risk of collisions. These results highlight the need for turbine designs minimizing overlap with bird flight heights and underscore the importance of legislative adjustments to height restrictions.</p>}},
  author       = {{Škrábal, Jan and Raab, Maximilian and Raab, Rainhard and Grüebler, Martin U. and Kormann, Urs G. and Scherler, Patrick and Sumasgutner, Petra and Åkesson, Susanne and Bermejo, Ana and Chakarov, Nayden and Fiedler, Wolfgang and Godino, Alfonso and Haraszthy, László and Klein, Katharina and Kolbe, Martin and Literák, Ivan and Mammen, Kerstin and Mammen, Ubbo and Paquet, Jean Yves and Pfeiffer, Thomas and De La Puente, Javier and Resetaritz, Alexander and van Rijn, Stef and Scholze, Luisa and Spakovszky, Péter and Steinborn, Eike and Westphal, Jörg and Wojta, Manuel and Raab, Rainer}},
  issn         = {{0006-3207}},
  keywords     = {{GPS-telemetry; Human-wildlife conflict mitigation; Mortality; Raptor conservation; Renewable energy}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Biological Conservation}},
  title        = {{Red kite (Milvus milvus) collision risk is higher at wind turbines with larger rotors and lower clearance, evidenced by GPS tracking}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2025.111482}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.biocon.2025.111482}},
  volume       = {{312}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}