Spirit and Nova, Auburn University’s War Eagles, took a mini vacation to Colorado while simultaneously working on research to save the lives of their relatives.
The eagles, accompanied by three staff members from the Southeastern Raptor Center, braved the cold to participate in research to prevent bird strikes in wind turbines.
Marianne Hudson, assistant director of raptor training and education, said the National Renewable Energy Laboratory that partners with Laufer Wind contacted them.
“They saw that we have eagles that are trained to fly to handlers over large distances,” Hudson said. “This is the first large-scale research project our eagles have been involved in.”
The research was testing radar systems capabilities to detect birds. Although bird deaths by wind turbines are rare, eagles and other large birds are at an increased risk because of their size.
“Bird deaths by collision with wind turbines is just a small percentage of bird deaths annually,” said Andrew Hopkins, raptor specialist II. “However, this is still a worldwide problem, and if there is a way to protect these species, then we have the responsibility to do everything we can to make sure it doesn’t happen.”
The research was conducted by having the eagles fly on predetermined paths while wearing GPS tracking systems, the kind they wear while flying through Jordan-Hare Stadium.
“Marianne and I were both responsible for flying the eagles to designated points based off of angles the researchers wanted,” Hopkins said.
Releasing two eagles at anytime can be nerve-wracking, but especially when released into the Colorado wilderness.
“I think we are always nervous when the birds fly,” Hudson said. “But they are always wearing their tracking devices in case they do decide to fly off.”
Hopkins said extra training measures were enacted before the trip to ensure the eagles' safety.
“Before we left for Colorado, we had to keep training the eagles to fly to us for their reward,” Hopkins said. “Normally we strictly do this in the stadium so that they heavily associate the stadium with a positive reward. However, they weren’t going to be in a stadium in Colorado.”
Spirit and Nova were taken to Lake Guntersville, Birmingham, the field near the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art and other areas to practice flying in unusual places.
“In the weeks prior to our trip, you could have seen us at different locations around Auburn and even across the state,” Hopkins said. “We wanted to make sure that the eagles knew they were supposed to come to us no matter where we were at.”
According to Hudson, the research will take several weeks to analyze but will ultimately benefit wind turbines worldwide.
“This research has the potential to allow wind turbines to turn off when birds are coming,” Hudson said. “If the technology is implemented in wind farms worldwide, it has the potential to save lives.”
Hopkins said he and his team are always happy to help with life-saving research.
“Future generations of birds of prey will be protected from these wind turbines and future generations of people will be allowed to continue to watch these powerful raptors,” Hopkins said.
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
