Soaring migratory birds avoid wind farm in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, southern Mexico.

ABSTRACT: The number of wind farms operating in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, southern Mexico, has rapidly increased in recent years; yet, this region serves as a major migration route for various soaring birds, including Turkey Vultures (Cathartes aura) and Swainson's Hawks (Buteo swainsoni). We analyzed the flight trajectories of soaring migrant birds passing the La Venta II wind farm during the two migratory seasons of 2011, to determine whether an avoidance pattern existed or not. We recorded three polar coordinates for the flight path of migrating soaring birds that were detected using marine radar, plotted the flight trajectories and estimated the number of trajectories that intersected the polygon defined by the wind turbines of La Venta II. Finally, we estimated the actual number of intersecti

SUBMITTER: Villegas-Patraca R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3967695 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature