British Birds Need Help to Survive Wind Turbines, Farms

LONDON, UK, October 11, 2004 (ENS) - A wind power developer's proposal to install 26 wind turbines at Romney Marsh, Kent is running into opposition from two of the most influential British conservation organizations.

English Nature, the government's wildlife advisor, has joined forces with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) to advise the public inquiry into the proposed wind farm development at Romney Marsh, which gets underway on Tuesday.

Romney Marsh on England's southeast coast (Photo courtesy Romney Marsh Countryside Project)

The two conservation organizations say the birds could collide with these turbines if they are built on or near areas where the birds tend to feed.

Chris Corrigan, regional director for the RSPB said, "Conservation efforts in the last 11 years have created a very rich feeding and roosting area for more than 20,000 waterfowl and birds of prey. The windfarm could cancel out all the years of progress made by local landowners and threaten an internationally important population of birds."

The Dungeness to Pett Level Special Protection Area is located on the southeast coast of England, on the border of East Sussex and Kent between Hastings and New Romney, encompassing shingle beaches, various types of wetlands and open water.

Dungeness is a shingle beach of international importance as a large shingle foreland with a complex pattern of ridges reflecting its accumulation and development over hundreds of years.

Birds such as Bewick's swan, shoveler, bittern, golden plover, gadwall and hen harrier could be at risk as they are attracted to feed on arable fields and water bodies near the wind turbines.

Biologists have counted 179 Bewick’s swans, Cygnus columbianus bewickii, in the protected area, representing at least 2.6 percent of the wintering population in Great Britain. Because of their size Bewick's swans have trouble swerving to avoid overhead power lines and have been known to collide with buildings in foggy conditions.

Bewick’s swans may have trouble avoiding wind turbines proposed near Romney Marsh. (Photo courtesy The Swan Sanctuary)

Teresa Bennett, English Nature's Kent team manager, said, "It is up to the developers to prove that there will be no risk to the thousands of birds that rely on Romney Marsh. We don't think they have been able to demonstrate this and want to make sure beautiful birds like the Bewick's swans are not put at risk."

Both organizations say they support the generation of electricity from renewable sources and are not anti-development. But, they say, it is vital that wind farms do not damage important wildlife sites either directly or indirectly and are sited appropriately, taking into account advice about impacts on international wildlife sites.

In a separate collaboration, English Nature and the RSPB have concluded that organic farms are better than conventional farms for birds and other wildlife.

After a scientific review comparing evidence about wildlife on more than 50 organic and equivalent non-organic farms, the researchers found that a wide range of wildlife including birds, bats, insects and wildflowers flourish on organic farms.

The review, published in the journal "Biological Conservation," said that one reason wildlife preferred organic farms is that they do not use synthetic fertilizers and pesticides.

Tree sparrows have vanished across Great Britain due to agricultural practices. (Photo by Rosie Rees courtesy Wood Lane Nature Reserve)

Wildlife flourished due to the sympathetic management of non-cropped habitats such as hedges, ditches and ponds, and, the researchers found there is a a greater tendency for organic farms to be mixed livestock and arable enterprises. Mixed farms often provide the mosaic of different habitats that wildlife needs to thrive in the farmed environment.

Sue Armstrong Brown, head of agriculture policy at the RSPB, said, "Farmland bird numbers have plummeted over the past 30 years and both conventional and organic farmers have a role to play in reversing these declines."

"This study shows that organic farming can encourage farmland wildlife," Brown explained. "The findings should hearten those already managing organic farms with wildlife in mind, and inspire others keen to reap the benefits of organic methods."

Skylark numbers have dropped by 54 percent, yellowhammers by 52 percent, tree sparrows by 94 percent, corn buntings 89 percent and the grey partridge by 86 percent, according to "The State of the UK's Birds 2002, produced by a group of NGOs – the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, the British Trust for Ornithology, the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust – and the government organization most closely involved in bird monitoring in the UK, the Joint Nature Conservation Committee.

Bird populations are one of 15 headline quality of life indicators used by the government, which has set a target of reversing farmland bird declines by 2020.

English Nature has been supporting the British Department of Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs in developing provisions to encourage more farmers to farm organically through the Organic Action Plan and also through the development of new agri-environment strategies scheduled to be launched next year.