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Golden Eagle mortality at a utility-scale wind energy facility near Palm Springs, California

May 21, 2015

Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) mortality associated with wind energy turbines and infrastructure is under-reported and weakly substantiated in the published literature. I report two cases of mortality at a utility-scale renewable energy facility near Palm Springs, California. The facility has been in operation since 1984 and included 460 65KW turbines mounted on 24.4 m or 42.7 m lattice-style towers with 8 m rotor diameters. One mortality event involved a juvenile eagle that was struck and killed by a spinning turbine blade on 31 August, 1995. The tower was 24.4 m high. The other involved an immature female that was struck by a spinning blade on another 24.4 m tower on 17 April, 1997 and was later euthanized due to the extent of internal injuries. Other raptor mortalities incidentally observed at the site, and likely attributable to turbines, included three Red-tailed Hawks (Buteo jamaicensis) found near turbines.

Publication Year 2015
Title Golden Eagle mortality at a utility-scale wind energy facility near Palm Springs, California
Authors Jeffrey E. Lovich
Publication Type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Series Title Western Birds
Index ID 70148371
Record Source USGS Publications Warehouse
USGS Organization Southwest Biological Science Center