Cameras on a wind turbine: better view on bird casualties
The purpose of the cameras is to get a better understanding of how many bird casualties are caused by turbines at sea and how.
Published on February 16, 2025
A bird flies past a turbine. The image is a summary of 30 seconds of video in a single image. The yellow dots represent the path the bird followed. Source: Vattenfall
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This weekend marks the official start of spring migration. Over the next few months, millions of birds will migrate across the North Sea, passing several wind farms in the process. How many birds fall victim to a collision with a turbine is difficult to monitor because they fall into the sea and drift away. A study with thermal imaging cameras on a wind turbine should provide more insight.
Sixteen cameras hang on turbine 'W6' of wind farm Hollandse Kust Zuid. Twelve keep an eye on all corners of the horizon, four are aimed upward at the blades. As soon as a bird comes within range of them, they track its flight. If it looks like a bird is flying into the turbine, the images are further analyzed.
Realistic predictions
Every year, many land birds migrate along or across the North Sea. They are on their way from breeding areas to wintering areas, or on their way back. On fine days, songbirds and waders fly hundreds of meters high, but in bad weather they stay closer to the water surface and therefore come within range of the turbine blades.
The purpose of the cameras is to better understand the amount of bird casualties that turbines cause at sea and under what conditions. Currently, theoretical models are used to estimate that number. Observations that can support the models are lacking.
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Jesper Kyed Larsen, bioscience expert at Vattenfall: “Wind industry and conservationists both benefit from understanding how turbines affect bird populations. A better understanding of the risks helps to develop efficient measures that can reduce collisions. In the longer term, it also provides more realistic forecasts for new wind farms to be built.”
Bird spotting
The infrared cameras work day and night, and also in difficult conditions such as fog and rain. They can spot small songbirds up to a distance of about 120 meters. For thrushes, the camera's range is 200 meters, and seagulls can even be detected at 500 meters. The video footage is analyzed using artificial intelligence.
The study focuses on the migration of small birds such as songbirds and thrushes, but includes all bird activity and also looks at bats. The study is being conducted jointly with Wageningen Environmental Research, part of Wageningen University, and will take a year to complete. After that, it will be determined whether more turbines will be equipped with cameras.
Turbines shut down
A Start/Stop procedure is in effect during bird migration. The government can ask wind farms to shut down wind turbines for a few hours if large flocks of migratory birds are expected. This does mean that power plants must step in to provide enough electricity. The Start/Stop procedure is therefore announced two days in advance. The question is whether the turbines will shut down at the right time, simply because it is difficult to predict so far in advance exactly which route the birds will choose and how much time they will need to leave a wind farm again.