Risk to European birds from collisions with wind-energy facilities

Etard, A. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1700-2972, Jung, M. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7569-1390, & Visconti, P. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6823-2826 (2026). Risk to European birds from collisions with wind-energy facilities. Biological Conservation 319 e111875. 10.1016/j.biocon.2026.111875.

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Abstract

In line with Europe's decarbonization goals, wind-power capacity is projected to increase in future years. However, wind-energy facilities can affect flying animals through fatal collisions with wind-energy infrastructure. We assessed the reported risk posed by collisions across 108 European birds and mapped risk hotspots in Europe. We employed a customised framework in which risk arises from the intersection of (1) impact (estimated fatality numbers given species exposure to wind turbines) and (2) vulnerability (degree to which species may be affected). We used a quantitative synthesis of fatality numbers at wind-energy facilities to quantify collision-mortality rates at the species-level using statistical models. We estimated impact from model predictions integrating species suitable areas and wind-turbine locations. We estimated species' vulnerability from ecological characteristics (generation length, clutch size, and estimates of European suitable area) assumed to reflect species' ability to cope with disturbances. Overlapping vulnerability with impact, we classified species into relative risk categories, with higher risk assigned to more impacted and more vulnerable species. Risk was unevenly distributed among species and across space, with notable hotspots in the Iberian Peninsula and Northern Europe. Our results identify potential areas of conflict between wind-energy development and bird conservation, help prioritise species for targeted mitigation, and emphasize the importance of large-scale spatial planning to minimise impacts on vulnerable species across their range. Our results highlight the need for species-specific data for future risk assessments. Our continental-scale perspective informs wind-power deployment at large scales, but we acknowledge the need for finer-scale analyses to guide site-level decisions.

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