Our ever-spreading infrastructure of housing, industry, water, energy and transport networks is destroying and degrading natural habitats. Artificial structures of various kinds, from fences to cell-phone masts, and electricity power lines to wind farms, pose a direct threat to many birds. Huge numbers of birds are killed or injured by collision with these structures, ranging from the smallest passerines to some of the heaviest flying birds on the planet.

Poorly located wind farms can have significant negative impacts on birds. Not only can inappropriately sited developments destroy important habitat and displace birds from key flight paths and migration routes, but birds can also be affected directly by collision with turbine blades. With the number of wind farms set to rise dramatically in the coming years, it is critical that the implications for wildlife are fully considered and that mitigation measures are implemented to reduce these negative impacts.

Collisions with power lines can also have significant impacts on birds like raptors and bustards. For some species, an additional threat is electrocution on poorly designed power lines. Many casualties involve common species, but together collisions and electrocutions can have population-level impacts on threatened species, such as vultures. Often, deaths could be avoided through better design and the use of simple bird-protection devices.

To avoid conflict between nature and energy developments from poorly sited energy projects, BirdLife International is the world authority in the field of avian sensitivity mapping, whereby spatial data are used to identify areas where conflict between energy infrastructure and birds is likely to occur. This provides planning authorities, developers and financial institutions with robust spatial planning tools and technical guidance, to enable evidence-based decision-making on the optimum safe siting of wind turbines and power lines.

All these topics and more are covered in this month’s first centenary collection of BCI papers, made freely available by Cambridge University Press for a limited period to mark the 100th anniversary of BirdLife International. The release of this particular collection coincides with the 6^th Conference on Wind energy and Wildlife impacts (CWW), which took place in the Netherlands from 4-8 April 2022.

Ian Burfield, Global Science Coordinator (Species), BirdLife International