Birdwatchers see rare swift killed by wind turbine

[DreamGypsy]

30. I agree that steps should be taken with wind energy technologies to minimize danger...

Last edited Mon Jul 1, 2013, 09:36 PM - Edit history (1)

...to birds and other animals. But the motivations for those changes should come from legitimate reports about native populations, and not emotional appeals to birders because a single bird of a species which only strays to Scotland once every twenty years has died. The 80 people who witnessed this 'murder of a rare bird' could probably have done more to ensure the survival of local species if they didn't use fossil fuels for the 625 mile, 13 hours 56 mins trip from Norfolk to the Isle of Harris (and that's the short route using the A82; it's 700 miles if you take the M6!)

Ok, maybe only one birder came for Norfolk and perhaps she/he walked or bicycled the entire way except, of course, swimming to avoid the ferry voyage. Or maybe not. This article strikes me as a very typical attempt by the press to incite fear and panic into the general population.

Here is the natural distribution of the White-throated Needletail (fromWikipedia):


Northern summer (bright green) Resident (dark green) Northern winter (yellow)

These swifts breed in rocky hills in central Asia and southern Siberia. This species is migratory, wintering south in the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia and Australia. It is a rare vagrant in western Europe, but has been recorded as far west as Norway, Sweden and Great Britain. In June 2013, the bird was spotted in the United Kingdom, the first sighting in 22 years. The bird flew into a wind turbine and died; its body was sent to a museum.

Note that Tom Stike was very quick to update this page with the latest news. A good thing, I guess.


(on edit: I hit Post my reply instead of Preview, early in the composition. We're idiots, Babe. It's a wonder we can even feed ourselves.)