WIND TURBINE HIT KILLS EAGLE

Renewable energy sector pledges to work to increase understanding of birds' needs

- GEMMA RYDER

A GOLDEN eagle has died after a "wind turbine strike" in Dumfries and Galloway, an investigation has concluded.

The death of locally-fledged bird Sparky is the first recorded incident of its kind in south Scotland, according to conservation body South of Scotland Golden Eagle Project.

The group, which monitors and researches the golden eagle population in the area, said it learned "something untoward" had happened to the three-year-old raptor on the afternoon of August 22 from its satellite tagging system.

Members quickly found the body, which was lying 15 metres from a turbine base with its wing detached, and worked with staff at the wind farm to secure the body for pathological probes.

After a number of tests, the Veterinary Investigation Centre, at Scotland's Rural College in Dumfries, concluded his injuries were "typical of those associated with a wind turbine strike".