Study shows bird flight paths past two wind farms proposed for Bass Strait

A world-first study of migratory bird movements across Bass Strait has found the birds are moving directly through areas designated by the federal government for two offshore wind farms.

Monash University researchers studying Tasmania’s boob owl have for the first time investigated its flight migration path from Victoria to Tasmania, tracking the birds via satellite and mapping their water migrations.

The findings, published today in the journal Emu Austral Ornithology, highlight the importance of Bass Strait as a landbird flight route and highlight the 21,100 square kilometers of offshore wind that the federal government has declared off Gippsland and northern Tasmania. It raises the potential environmental threats posed by power generation areas.

Monash Associate Professor Rohan Clarke said this was a reminder that the development of renewable energy infrastructure must be based on ecological research to reduce impacts on local wildlife. Ta.

“As ecologists, we recognize more than anyone that a transition to renewable energy is urgently needed to address the pressing threat of climate change,” Professor Clarke said. “But this can give rise to conflicts that arise when industrial transformation aimed at environmental sustainability harms other environmental or ecological priorities, the so-called green-green dilemma.

“It is important that conservation and biodiversity experts work closely with those championing the transition to renewable energy to avoid unintended consequences for our wildlife.”

Millions of Australian landbirds migrate each year, but the phenomenon in Australia is poorly understood.

Professor Clark said this meant there were knowledge gaps that needed to be addressed when considering renewable energy projects such as wind farms.

“Bass Strait is one such area, where large numbers of birds fly between Tasmania and mainland Australia, flying north in the autumn and returning south in the spring, but their flight paths have been poorly studied. “There is no progress,” he said.

“This highlights the need to fully understand and carefully manage the impacts of development on wildlife, which requires a deeper understanding of bird movements along critical flight routes. Our research is important for informing policy makers, developers and land managers on these issues so they can act accordingly.”

To begin the study, Monash researchers attached small tracking tags to Tasmanian owls captured on the coastal headland of Cape Riptrap in South Gippsland, Victoria.

These tags are taped to several tail feathers so that the tags can be peeled off harmlessly as soon as the battery dies, and they record the bird’s GPS location.

All tracked birds that traveled south traveled non-stop throughout the night, passing directly through the declared offshore wind priority area south of Cape Wilson.

The data collected in the Monash study was supplemented by thousands of citizen scientist entries on the online database eBird.

Jessica Chow, Monash ecologist and co-author of the study, said the study provides important new knowledge about major migratory bird flight paths in the face of increasing pressure from development and resource extraction. Then he said.

“The Tasmanian Boobook builds on our collective knowledge of how birds use Bass Strait, given its size, accessibility to Victoria’s headlands and direct water travel. “It has become a model species for further research,” she said.

“Understanding where and how these birds use the area is critical to conserving this and other species as we move towards renewable energy sources. ”