Wind Farms and Power Lines Reduced the Territory Status and Probability of Fledgling Production in the Eurasian Goshawk Accipiter gentilis

Abstract

Wind power is commonly used to reduce greenhouse gas emissions but often has negative effects on biodiversity. In this study, I investigated the effects of wind farm and power line construction on the territory status of the Eurasian goshawk Accipiter gentilis, whether fledglings were produced or not, and the number of fledglings. Included were 55 goshawk territories investigated before and after the construction period. I found that the territory status declined significantly in the influence area within 3 km from the disturbance compared to the control area more than 7 km away. Interestingly, the decline in territory status was similar in the distance categories 0–1 km, 1–2 km, and 2–3 km, while there was nearly no change in territory status in the control area, thus indicating that the influence area from this kind of disturbance was minimum 3 km from the nest. The number of breeding pairs declined significantly during the construction period only in the influence area. Possible reasons might be higher mortality caused by collisions with power lines, desertion, avoidance of the areas with noise and disturbance from the constructions, and possible indirect effects caused by reductions in prey species. I found no effects of the construction on the number of fledglings.