Post-fledging movements of white-tailed eagles: Conservation implications for wind-energy development

: Balotari-Chiebao F, Villers A, Ijas A, Ovaskainen O, Repka S, Laaksonen T

Publisher: SPRINGER

: 2016

AMBIO: A Journal of the Human Environment

AMBIO

: AMBIO

: 45

: 7

: 831

: 840

: 10

: 0044-7447

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-016-0783-8

The presence of poorly sited wind farms raises concerns for wildlife, including birds of prey. Therefore, there is a need to extend the knowledge of the potential human-wildlife conflicts associated with wind energy. Here, we report on the movements and habitat use of post-fledging satellite-tagged white-tailed eagles in Finland, where wind-energy development is expected to increase in the near future. In particular, we examine the probability of a fledgling approaching a hypothetical turbine that is placed at different distances from the nest. We found that this probability is high at short distances but considerably decreases with increasing distances to the nest. A utilisation-availability analysis showed that the coast was the preferred habitat. We argue that avoiding construction between active nests and the shoreline, as well as adopting the currently 2-km buffer zone for turbine deployment, can avoid or minimise potential impacts on post-fledging white-tailed eagles.