Bright Lights Kauai Hawaii

On the island of Kauai, Hawaii, the bright lights are endangering the seabirds by distracting and disorientating them.  Often on their maiden flight the young seabirds are caught in the glare of very bright light, rather than being guided by the light of the moon and are killed or injured when they crash into objects.

They will also circle around and around until they are exhausted and fall to the ground where they are killed by cats, dogs and other human activities.  Or, they die of starvation and dehydration.

With the growing popularity for windfarms birds are having to deal with yet another great hazard.   The location of windfarms close to breeding grounds and the annual migrations when huge numbers of birds fly across the seas, mostly at low altitudes and at night, greatly increase the potential for collisions with the turbine blades. Poor visibility during adverse weather conditions adds to this potential.

Finally, windfarms act as barriers to migrating birds and if they are rerouted from their favourite flight paths, the result could be an increase in the distances they must travel as well as lowering their survival rates due to fatigue and the survival of their offspring because on the new routes, food could become more difficult to find.

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