Patterns of bird and bat migration along Lake Michigan and Lake Huron coastal areas
- EchoTrack Inc., Ottawa, ON (Canada)
- Michigan State Univ., East Lansing, MI (United States)
- Private, Lansing, MI (United States)
Wind energy is becoming a more important and common source of renewable energy. Coastal areas produce high winds and as a result more wind farms are being established along coastlines. These same coastal areas are also potentially migration corridors, as birds and bats avoid the risks of crossing open water (e.g. encountering inclement weather or predators without adequate cover in close proximity). Bats and birds that migrate along shorelines developed with wind turbines are at risk for turbine collisions and related fatalities (i.e., barotrauma). We examined the fall migration of bats and night flying birds at 5 sites along the Great Lakes shorelines. After standardizing habitat types, we specifically compared species use at 5 shoreline plots versus 5 plots 3 miles inland. We used an acoustic-radar sampling system between sunset and sunrise to capture species flight patterns, bird calls, and echolocative activity of bats. The radar sampling unit covered a 2-km radius, whereas the volume recorded by the acoustic unit varied by the frequency of the call. Our results showed that the flight activity of both bats and birds was highest at inland sites consistently across all sites. Acoustic activity of both bats and birds decreased over the fall migration period. Our data did not support the alternative hypothesis that the shoreline provides more intensely used fall migration corridors than inland areas for bats and night migrant birds. Our data suggest that shoreline areas may be less important as a travel corridor to bats and night-flying birds than more inland areas. Further studies should be conducted to determine if this pattern is consistent among temporal and spatial variables and consistent for further offshore. Future conservation efforts may need to critically consider inland areas in efforts to reduce risk from wind turbine fatalities. By learning the migratory habits of bats and birds, specifically whether they are using the coastline, inland pathways, or offshore routes, wind energy developers can significantly reduce negative impacts to bats and birds by siting wind turbines in non-migratory areas.
- Research Organization:
- Michigan State Univ., East Lansing, MI (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- Contributing Organization:
- CZM, National Parks Service for permission to monitor on their lands, private landowners for permission to monitor on their lands
- DOE Contract Number:
- EE0000527
- OSTI ID:
- 1078094
- Report Number(s):
- DOE/EE0000527
- Resource Relation:
- Related Information: Proposed for Journal of Wildlife Management
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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