A Black & White Answer
African Birdlife|November - December 2020
Bird fatalities at wind farms
A Black & White Answer

One of the biggest environmental challenges associated with generating power from wind is that birds, often raptors, are killed if they collide with the rapidly spinning wind turbine blades. Beyond locating turbines to avoid core habitat and flight paths of vulnerable species, there are few proven and cost-effective options to minimise the risk of collisions.

One potential solution, proposed in 2003 by cognitive scientist William Hodos of the University of Maryland, is to increase the visibility of the wind turbines to birds and reduce ‘motion smear’ – the blurring that occurs when an object moves across the retina at speed. To test this theory, Hodos conducted laboratory experiments on American Kestrels Falco sparverius, with promising results. The report suggested that painting one turbine blade black (and leaving the other two blades white) should be tested further.

Denne historien er fra November - December 2020-utgaven av African Birdlife.

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Denne historien er fra November - December 2020-utgaven av African Birdlife.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

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African Birdlife

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Keith Barnes, co-author of the new Field Guide to Birds of Greater Southern Africa, chats about the long-neglected birding regions just north of the Kunene and Zambezi, getting back to watching birds and the vulture that changed his life.

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5 mins  |
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footloose IN FYNBOS
African Birdlife

footloose IN FYNBOS

The Walker Bay Diversity Trail is a leisurely hike with a multitude of flowers, feathers and flavours along the way.

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Living forwards
African Birdlife

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How photographing birds helps me face adversity

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10 mins  |
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CAPE crusade
African Birdlife

CAPE crusade

The Cape Bird Club/City of Cape Town Birding Big Year Challenge

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5 mins  |
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water & WINGS
African Birdlife

water & WINGS

WATER IS LIFE. As wildlife photographer Greg du Toit knows better than most.

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1 min  |
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winter wanderer
African Birdlife

winter wanderer

as summer becomes a memory in the south, the skies are a little quieter as the migrants have returned to the warming north. But one bird endemic to the southern African region takes its own little winter journey.

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1 min  |
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when perfect isn't enough
African Birdlife

when perfect isn't enough

Egg signatures and forgeries in the cuckoo-drongo arms race

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5 mins  |
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Southern SIGHTINGS
African Birdlife

Southern SIGHTINGS

The late summer period naturally started quietening down after the midsummer excitement, but there were still some classy rarities on offer for birders all over the subregion. As always, none of the records included here have been adjudicated by any of the subregion's Rarities Committees.

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4 mins  |
May/June 2024
flood impact on wetland birds
African Birdlife

flood impact on wetland birds

One of the features of a warming planet is increasingly erratic rainfall; years of drought followed by devastating floods. Fortunately, many waterbirds are pre-adapted to cope with such extremes, especially in southern Africa where they have evolved to exploit episodic rainfall events in semi-arid and arid regions. But how do waterbirds respond to floods in areas where rainfall - and access to water - is more predictable? Peter Ryan explores the consequences of recent floods on the birds of the Western Cape's Olifants River valley.

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5 mins  |
May/June 2024
a star is born
African Birdlife

a star is born

It’s every producer’s dream to plan a wildlife television series and pick the right characters before filming.

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2 mins  |
May/June 2024