Przemysław Wylegała, Jacek Antczak, Jakub Glapan, Dariusz Górecki, Sebastian Guentzel, Krzysztof Kajzer, Tomasz Knioła, Aleksandra Szurlej-Kielańska
Ornis Polonica 2025, 66: 25-42
https://doi.org/10.12657/ornis.2025.1.3
Abstract: This study presents a proposal for pre-investment and post-investment ornithological monitoring for onshore wind farms located in agricultural areas. For the pre-investment surveys, we propose five research protocols: 1) counting birds at observation points, with particular emphasis on birds of prey; 2) inventory of selected breeding bird species within 500 or 2000 meters from wind turbines; 3) identifying foraging groups and communal roosts of birds; 4) inventory of bird habitats, including types of agricultural crops; 5) estimation of mortality rates. In post-investment monitoring, an additional protocol includes mortality monitoring based on identifying the victims of collisions with turbines. This study also suggests the recommended minimum turbine distance from the nests of selected avian species, as well as from large collective roosts. To assess the activity of birds of prey, it is proposed to compare the collected data with reference values from areas studied in Western Poland.
Keywords: minimization measures, onshore wind farms, ornithological survey methodology, post-investment monitoring, pre-investment monitoring
