Birds vs. Blades?: Offshore Wind Power and the Race to Protect Seabirds
bove the Atlantic Ocean a few miles from the New Jersey shore a large white bird glides on black tipped wings It scans the waves below and spies a school of herring In an instant the bird points itself downward and plummets toward the water Just before impact it folds its wings straight back It spears the water like an arrow Underwater the bird flaps its wings and kicks its webbed feet through the swarm of fish Diving gannets hit the water at speeds of more than 60 miles 97 kilometers per hour They can stay It snatches a silver fish in its underwater for up to thirty seconds in pursuit of fish beak swallows and bobs to the surface Water rolls off its wings as the bird returns to the sky The northern gannet is one of the animal doesn't bother them explains scientist lain world's extreme athletes a bird known for Stenhouse They re made for it graceful flight and high speed dives Like all But seabirds deep connection to ocean seabirds northern gannets are built for ocean wind could become a problem Soon they may travel Catching the wind on wings that reach need to share their airspace with something nearly 6 6 feet 2 meters across gannets sail else that is made for wind wind farms over the waves and travel long distances with A wind farm is a cluster of towering wind ease The structure of their wings bent at turbines windmills each as tall as a thirty the elbow and tapered to a point is perfect story building Propeller like blades catch for gliding on ocean gusts High wind the wind and spin a generator which
Seabirds are a diverse group including any bird that depends largely on the marine environment Seabirds range from emperor penguins above to tiny arctic terns below which migrate from near the North Pole to Antarctica electricity Wind power is a form of clean energy because it makes electricity without creating air pollution Experts think the US Atlantic coast is a great place to harvest wind energy In 2015 workers began building five wind turbines for the first wind farm in US waters 3 miles 5 km off the coast of Rhode Island More offshore wind projects are planned for Massachusetts New Jersey Maryland and Virginia But these same waters are the winter home for millions of seabirds including the northern gannet Scientists worry that sharing space with wind farms could be disastrous for seabirds Studying a bird that lives over the ocean is difficult so the lives of seabirds largely remain a mystery To protect these birds from wind farms scientists must learn more about how they use the Atlantic Ocean What migration paths do they follow Where do they fish and travel How much do their travel patterns shift from year to year Are offshore wind farms safe for seabirds No one is sure As this clean energy technology comes face to face with offshore wildlife scientists are racing to learn all they can about seabirds and find ways to keep them
LIFE SEAC All seabirds spend their days hunting Northern gannets left look for fish in the water as they soar over the waves They may also follow fishing boats for discards watch for other birds feeding or look for whales driving fish to the surface According to biologist lain Stenhouse When they find food they wheel around above sometimes in dense chaotic flocks and plunge into the water to attack the prey Some seabirds dive from the water's surface Scoters a kind of seat duck eat mussels and oysters Scoters gather in flocks on the water over shellfish beds They dive to the bottom rest on the water while they digest their meal and then dive again At night seabirds rest They come to sheltered spots with calmer waters and sleep on the water Although not much is known about how they sleep Stenhouse says they probably stay alert perhaps occasionally opening one or both eyes to watch for danger Offshore wind farms generate renewable power from strong ocean winds several miles from shore Scientists are studying seabirds flight patterns to make sure offshore wind won't threaten the birds
