It is feared that a red kite found dead at Fairburn windfarm on the Black Isle could have been struck by a turbine rotor-blade.
The bird has been examined by a Scottish Agricultural College vet who found it had suffered bruising and fractures consistent with it having died through an impact.
The kite had been adopted by the children of Aviemore Primary School and they had named it Tweety Pie, before following its movements on a satellite tracking system.
RSPB Scotland’s head of planning and development Aedan Smith said: “Evidence suggests that the kite is most likely to have been killed by collision with a turbine. The vast majority of windfarms do not pose any threat to wild bird populations, but poorly-sited and designed windfarms can cause problems for wildlife.
“Fairburn windfarm was approved despite an objection from RSPB Scotland, but we will continue to work closely with SSE and others to find ways of reducing the risk to red kites and other birds from windfarms still further. I hope that we will also be able to secure additional funding to help this threatened species.”
RSPB Scotland objected to the development of the Fairburn windfarm when it was proposed because it believed the development represented a possible threat to red kites.
Since then, the RSPB has been working closely with the site operators, SSE Renewables, to try to minimise the risk to red kites from the operational windfarm.
RSPB red kite community officer Claire Buchanan said: “We had been tracking its progress through its satellite tag and plotting its movements on our dedicated website www.eyestotheskies. org.uk
“Any loss of a kite is serious because the red kite population on the Black Isle is already under intense pressure due to illegal killing.”
Neil MacPhail: The Press & Journal: 26-6-10
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