Avian Issues

There are two issues to consider with respect to birds in the area - migratory birds and the resident bird population. The Ripley Hawk Watch is an organization that tracks the migration of raptors through the area. Some of the species that they have documented in the area which are endangered species include Golden Eagles and Perigrine Falcons. Threatened species include Bald Eagles and Northern Harriers and species of special concern include Osprey, Sharp Shinned Hawk and Coopers Hawk. A large variety of other migratory species also use this area as their flyway. The resident bird population includes a variety of hawks and two nests of bald eagles. These eagles hunt in the creeks and ponds in the area and are frequently seen flying along the line where the wind turbines would be placed. At a meeting on June 15, 2004, representatives of the company said that the eagles fly to Lake Erie to hunt and rarely if ever fly along the ridge line. This is interesting since there have been sightings of these birds hunting the streams and ponds at the top of the ridge and have been seen flying in the exact area where Chautauqua Wind Power wants to place some of their turbines.

In the presentation of the Avian Risk Study on June 15, 2004 at Eason Hall in Westfield, representatives of Chautauqua Wind Power LLC and Ecology & Environment Inc. told the citizens that there was a very low risk to birds, both migrating and resident. There are some causes for concern in the way that they came to their findings. In the case of migratory species, their study data encompassed one year. At the information meeting, they kept using the word typically as though it meant something but they failed to consider whether or not the migration that year was typical - only a multi year study could confirm this. They also showed no data to suggest that the site they had selected for this Industrial Wind Power Project was in any way typical. The second question raised is that of the resident bird population. According to their representatives, they extrapolated the migratory data to extend to one year. Differences in bahaviour between migrating and resident species were not considered - there is a big difference between a bird flying past and one that is here for a while. An analogy would be someone driving past Westfield on the interstate rather than through our town streets to go shopping.

The following quote is from Chautauqua Wind Power LLC's summary of the Avian Risk Assessment: "Based on existing data sources reporting the percent mortality experienced for each avian group in the migration versus non migration seasons, the seasonal mortalities are then adjusted proportionally to yield an estimate of the total annual mortality for each avian group (i.e., raptors and landbirds)." This clearly shows that behavioural differences between migrating and resident birds was not considered. Also in this report, they claim that the resident Bald Eagles are not at risk because their flight paths for foraging are not near the proposed sites of the wind turbines. The simple truth of the matter is that the Bald Eagles forage the ponds and streams in the area, as well as Lake Erie. There have been sightings of these majestic birds in the immediate area where Chautauqua Wind Power LLC wants to place turbines.

Chautauqua Wind Power LLC claims that the birds will avoid the turbines and stay out of the area. Assuming for a moment that this is true, isn't that a significant loss to the area? Birds eat insects so the insect population might increase with a loss of birds in the area. These insects include mosquitos which are vectors of diseases like West Nile and the emerging Rift Valley Fever. Birds also eat carrion - with fewer birds, there could be an accumulation of animal carcasses in the area.

Conny Swacha's letter to the editor addresses this issue beautifully as she recounts the return of the Pheobes to her home.

Who is going to tell the birds not to fly here?