Analysis of County-Level Wind Turbine Density and American Robin (Turdus migratorius) Population Trends in Washington State
Faculty Mentor
E.D. Dascher
Presentation Type
Poster
Start Date
4-14-2026 11:30 AM
End Date
4-14-2026 1:30 PM
Location
PUB NCR
Primary Discipline of Presentation
Urban and Regional Planning
Abstract
Wind turbines pose a threat to migrating birds, causing an estimated 17,000 to 33,000 annual non-raptor bird deaths in Washington (Jansen, 2023), but these numbers are small when compared to the number of bird deaths anthropologically caused each year by other means. Additionally, the Renewable Energy Alliance estimates that wind turbines are 35 times safer for bird populations than fossil fuels (2025). This study evaluates claims of turbine-related bird loss by examining the correlation between the percent change in abundance of the American Robin (Turdus migratorius), the most common bird in North America, and wind turbine density at the county-scale in Washington State. The Cornell University eBird database provided the percent change in abundance of American Robins (2012-2022). Wind turbine locations were obtained from the U.S. Wind Turbine Database. Spatial analysis revealed that northern westside counties have experienced the greatest declines of American Robins, while central and southern counties have the highest wind turbine density. We used Excel to find the line of best fit, which resulted in an R-squared value of 0.11, indicating a negligible correlation between county-average American Robin abundance change (%) and wind turbines per 100 km2. While wind turbines do cause bird mortality, county level changes in American Robin abundance are not correlated with increased wind turbine densities across Washington state. Increased public awareness to counteract misinformation in conjunction with safety precautions, such as painting a single turbine blade black to make them more visible to migrating birds, will help promote wind energy as a clean and safe technology.
Recommended Citation
Gardner, Erica; Turcios-Duque, Xiumei; and Mahoney, Seamus, "Analysis of County-Level Wind Turbine Density and American Robin (Turdus migratorius) Population Trends in Washington State" (2026). 2026 Symposium. 48.
https://dc.ewu.edu/srcw_2026/ps_2026/p2_2026/48
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Analysis of County-Level Wind Turbine Density and American Robin (Turdus migratorius) Population Trends in Washington State
PUB NCR
Wind turbines pose a threat to migrating birds, causing an estimated 17,000 to 33,000 annual non-raptor bird deaths in Washington (Jansen, 2023), but these numbers are small when compared to the number of bird deaths anthropologically caused each year by other means. Additionally, the Renewable Energy Alliance estimates that wind turbines are 35 times safer for bird populations than fossil fuels (2025). This study evaluates claims of turbine-related bird loss by examining the correlation between the percent change in abundance of the American Robin (Turdus migratorius), the most common bird in North America, and wind turbine density at the county-scale in Washington State. The Cornell University eBird database provided the percent change in abundance of American Robins (2012-2022). Wind turbine locations were obtained from the U.S. Wind Turbine Database. Spatial analysis revealed that northern westside counties have experienced the greatest declines of American Robins, while central and southern counties have the highest wind turbine density. We used Excel to find the line of best fit, which resulted in an R-squared value of 0.11, indicating a negligible correlation between county-average American Robin abundance change (%) and wind turbines per 100 km2. While wind turbines do cause bird mortality, county level changes in American Robin abundance are not correlated with increased wind turbine densities across Washington state. Increased public awareness to counteract misinformation in conjunction with safety precautions, such as painting a single turbine blade black to make them more visible to migrating birds, will help promote wind energy as a clean and safe technology.
