Collision Course? Researchers Tag Golden Eagles with Satellite Telemetry Devices, Track Migration To Assess Risks of Wind Energy Development in Pennsylvania
Twice yearly, above the Appalachian Mountains in central and western Pennsylvania, a rarely witnessed winged
migration takes place. Hundreds of eastern golden eagles – majestic raptors with wingspans that can exceed seven
feet -- traverse the state to their winter and summer territories, passing above the mountain ridges through what
preliminary research shows to be an unchanging 30-60 mile wide corridor of
air space. The eagles’ flight path overlaps with land areas that hold significant
potential for wind power development in Pennsylvania, setting these majestic
birds on a potential collision course with fast-moving turbine blades. In the
hope of avoiding such a scenario, a team of researchers at the National
Aviary and Powdermill Avian Research Center, the biological research
station of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, has come together to
track and map the birds’ movements.
Credits: The National Aviary
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