http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-...chers.html

There had been only eight recorded sightings of the white-throated needletail in the UK since 1846. So when one popped up again on British shores this week, twitchers were understandably excited.
A group of 40 enthusiasts dashed to the Hebrides to catch a glimpse of the brown, black and blue bird, which breeds in Asia and winters in Australasia.
But instead of being treated to a wildlife spectacle they were left with a horror show when it flew into a wind turbine and was killed.
John Marchant, 62, who had made the trip all the way from Norfolk, said: ‘We were absolutely over the moon to see the bird. We watched it for nearly two hours.
‘But while we were watching it suddenly got a bit close to the turbine and then the blades hit it.
‘We all rushed up to the turbine, which took about five minutes, hoping the bird had just been knocked out the sky but was okay.
‘Unfortunately it had taken a blow to the head and was stone dead.
‘It was really beautiful when it was flying around, graceful and with such speed. To suddenly see it fly into a turbine and fall out the sky was terrible.’
The last sighting of a white-throated needletail was 22 years ago. A relative of the common swift, it is said to be capable of flying at an astonishing 106mph.
The bird was thousands of miles off course when it was originally spotted in Northumberland, before travelling further north. But it hadn’t reckoned on the wind turbine hazards of the Hebrides when it landed on the Isle of Harris.

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Average wind speeds in the area are 50 per cent higher than the national average, making it a valuable natural resource to tap into.
Lewis and Harris, technically one island, already has a number of wind farms, with several more planned in future.


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Perhaps the bird was inspired by Don Quixote.

Of all the "green energy" swindles ... wind is the worst.

It is a bird dicer. It causes shadow flicker. It is a hazard to private VFR aviation. It is LOUD. It causes doppler radar blind spots. It causes radio communication blind spots. And it is the most expensive per kilowatt hour when you factor in subsidies (IIRC).

(02-10-2014 02:54 PM)georgia_tech_swagger Wrote:  Of all the "green energy" swindles ... wind is the worst.

It is a bird dicer. It causes shadow flicker. It is a hazard to private VFR aviation. It is LOUD. It causes doppler radar blind spots. It causes radio communication blind spots. And it is the most expensive per kilowatt hour when you factor in subsidies (IIRC).

Solar farms are also a giant ripoff of the taxpayers because of the subsidies to build them. Thank the government for requiring X amount of "green energy to be in every grid..regardless of how inefficient and costly they are. I watched a 76 acre one being built this fall across from where I work. Pretty impressive operation to watch being built regardless.

repost.