Efficient hunters and focused on their preys, common kestrels (Falco tinnunculus) often disregard wind turbine blades rotating at high speed. The consequence? High mortality levels, as indicated by a 3-year long post-construction fatality monitoring program led by BE at Candeeiros Wind Power Plant.
A targeted Mitigation Plan was implemented, including densification of the vegetation at the bottom of wind turbines, to stop kestrels from hunting in those areas and compensation for the lost hunting areas by creating new vegetation mosaics, suitable for hunting and away from the wind power plant site.
The Mitigation Plan has always been supported by a continuous Monitoring Plan, with methodologies such as kestrel ringing and GPS tagging and nest monitoring.
Despite initial successes in reducing mortality, the Mitigation Plan had to be adapted to cope with evolving habitat management priorities imposed by environmental authorities. Therefore, a new strategy was developed, focused on i) increasing common kestrel breeding success, by placing alternative nesting sites on the surroundings and ii) reducing mortality, by providing new hunting areas away from the wind power plant site, thus preventing the kestrels from crossing it.
Candeeiros is a good example on the effective application of Adaptative Management strategies to harmonise a wind power plant´s operation and production targets to the conservation of the common kestrel populations.
