World migratory bird day, which is on the second weekend of May each year (this year it’s on the 9th of May), was created to turn the world’s attention to the wonders of bird migration and the need to conserve it.
This year’s theme for the day is named “Energy- make it bird friendly” and aims to highlight the importance of locating and developing renewable energy technologies in a way that minimises impacts on migratory birds and their habitats.
Of course renewable energy is hugely important for our future energy supply, and as renewable technology becomes more advanced and more popular, the process of decarbonisation can take place; greatly reducing global climate change! But the only way that renewable energy sources can be called ‘sustainable’ is if they do not pose any significant threat to biodiversity. Unfortunately, they sometimes do, especially to migratory species. For example, the Rift Valley/Red Sea area is used by more than 2 million soaring birds on spring and autumn migration and is one of the largest avian flyways in the world. Yet this area is also subject to huge development pressures, including a rapidly expanding wind energy industry. Soaring bird species are particularly vulnerable to collision with wind turbines and associated power infrastructure.
Habitats may also become fragmented or damaged due to renewable energy sources such as hydroelectricity which may disturb local microclimates and rainfall patterns, having detrimental effects on certain habitats. Some places such as wetlands are important stop off points for migrating species, but have been drained so that the fertile land can be used to grow crops; an example of this is the Hula Valley in Northern Israel.
The Hula valley was once one of the largest freshwater wetlands in the Middle East, until it was drained in the 1950’s for agriculture. Thankfully in 1994 a relatively large area of agricultural land had been restored into wetlands and the Hula nature reserve has been set up in the southern part of the valley. The wetlands are extremely important for migrating birds species, each Spring and Autumn more than 100,000 Cranes, about 50,000 Pelicans (including almost the entire populations of white pelicans from Europe), about 300,000 White Storks and about 25 species of raptors such as the Imperial Eagle and Spotted Eagle pass through the region. With the use of Biofuels becoming more popular, areas may be at a similar risk as the Hula Valley was in the 1950’s.
Unfortunately a new proposal made by the Israel Electric Corporation is to install an above ground electricity line to cross the Hula Valley to reach potential wind farms on the Golan Heights. This proposal poses a large threat on migrating birds, whether it is from birds sustaining injuries because of collisions with the lines or species being electrocuted (species such as storks that often nest on electricity pylons are especially at risk).
What I’m really trying to show is that the location of renewable energy sources is hugely important and that more research needs to take place on how renewable energy sources affect birdlife.
I would love to go on a trip to a mass migration hotspot one day, but for now I will have to make do with hearing a Chiffchaff calling from the window of my Biology revision class.
Ben Rees