Associations between distance to forest and spatial and temporal variation in abundance of key peatland breeding bird species

Capsule Negative forest edge effects were detected for Willow Ptarmigan (Red Grouse) Lagopus lagopus and Dunlin Calidris alpina.

Aims To investigate the effects of distance to forest on the abundance and changes in abundance of four key peatland breeding bird species, and to measure changes in predatory bird numbers, in the peatlands of northern Scotland.

Methods Bird surveys were carried out in 2000 at 34 plots, covering 197 km² of peatland, and 80 forestry point‐count sites, first surveyed in 1988. Habitat data were also collected in 2000. We used multi‐model inference to investigate the associations between forest distance and other habitat variables, and the abundance, and changes in abundance, of four bird species of economic or conservation importance: Red Grouse, European Golden Plover Pluvialis apricaria, Dunlin and Common Greenshank Tringa nebularia.

Results There was strong evidence that distance to forest was negatively associated with Dunlin abundance and changes in Red Grouse abundance, but only weak evidence for negative associations with Golden Plover abundance and changes in Dunlin abundance. There was no evidence of a forest distance effect on Greenshank. Among predatory birds, there were no significant increases either on peatland plots or in new forestry plantations.

Conclusions This study provides evidence that, for a given habitat quality, Dunlin densities are lower, and Red Grouse declines more likely, near to forest edges, but weak evidence only that Dunlin declines are more likely, and Golden Plover abundance lower, near to forests. These results suggest that for at least two key peatland breeding birds, forest removal is likely to benefit birds breeding on adjacent unafforested peatland.     

Golden Plover Pluvialis apricaria breeding success on a moor managed for shooting Red Grouse Lagopus lagopus

Capsule The best estimate of breeding success was a mean of 0.57 fledglings per pair, which when combined with adult survival rates, successfully explained the observed population trend.

Aims To quantify Golden Plover breeding success on a moor managed for shooting Red Grouse Lagopus lagopus.

Methods An intensive study recorded the fate of individual Golden Plover nests and, using radiotelemetry, chicks. The factors associated with mortality were examined, allowing the construction of a model of breeding success. Adult survival was estimated from return rates of colour-ringed birds.

Results Estimated rates of daily nest survival during laying (0.8636) were significantly lower than during incubation (0.9913). The daily survival rate of chicks less than nine days (0.8868) was significantly lower than for older chicks (0.9792). A population model based on these parameters overestimated the rate of nest losses, but accurately described brood survival and fledging success. Although predation rates were low, poor survival of young chicks through starvation or exposure suggest other factors were limiting breeding success at the study site.

Conclusions Predation rates of Golden Plover nests and chicks can be low on moorlands managed for shooting Red Grouse. However, in the absence of predation, other factors may still reduce chick survival and limit breeding success.     

The effects of a wind farm on birds in a migration point: the Strait of Gibraltar

The interaction between birds and wind turbines is an important factor to consider when a wind farm is constructed. A wind farm and two control areas were studied in Tarifa (Andalusia Province, southern Spain, 30STF590000–30STE610950). Variables were studied along linear transects in each area and observations of flight were also recorded from fixed points in the wind farm. The main purpose of our research was to determine the impact and the degree of flight behavioural change in birds flights resulting from a wind farm. Soaring birds can detect the presence of the turbines because they change their flight direction when they fly near the turbines and their abundance did not seem to be affected. This is also supported by the low amount of dead birds we found in the whole study period in the wind farm area. More studies will be necessary after and before the construction of wind farms to assess changes in passerine populations. Windfarms do not appear to be more detrimental to birds than other man-made structures.     

The song of Skylarks Alauda arvensis indicates the deterioration of an acoustic environment resulting from wind farm start‐up

The rapid development of wind energy may have negative effects on bird populations, including collisions with turbines, displacement due to disturbance or habitat loss, indirect effects of reduced breeding success and barrier effects. This challenging conservation issue has attracted a great deal of interest, but the noise generated by turbines has been largely overlooked. Here, we studied acoustic behaviour of Skylarks Alauda arvensis in relation to wind farm start‐up to assess whether a change in song parameters can indicate a deterioration in the acoustic environment. We recorded territorial males displaying close to operating and non‐operating turbines and at a control site without turbines. In the following breeding season, we undertook replications at the same sites, except that the non‐operating turbines were now in operation. We found that Skylarks displaying at the wind farm were affected by wind turbine noise. Males singing close to operating wind turbines sang higher‐frequency songs than males from a control site and those that displayed near non‐operating turbines. In addition, an upward frequency shift in songs was observed when non‐operating turbines started to operate in the consecutive season. We therefore conclude that the frequency shift observed did not result from turbine presence, but from the noise they started to generate. This shows that a change in song parameters may reliably and within a relatively short time indicate a significant deterioration of the acoustic environment as a consequence of wind farm start‐up. This may help conservation biologists to identify species and populations that are particularly susceptible to wind farm noise.     

Habitat selection,diet and food availability of European Golden Plover Pluvialis apricaria chicks in Swedish Lapland

Fennoscandian alpine tundra habitats support large numbers of breeding waders, but relatively little is known about their breeding ecology despite the fact that this habitat is threatened by climate change. We studied habitat selection, diet and prey availability of European (Eurasian) Golden Plover Pluvialis apricaria chicks at the Vindelfjällen Nature Reserve, Ammarnäs, Sweden. Information from 22 chicks tracked using radio‐transmitters was analysed. By analysing 149 faecal samples, four main prey taxa were identified, Coleoptera (40%), Bibionidae (31%), Hymenoptera (13%) and Tipulidae (10%). We found that chicks switched from feeding on Tipulidae to feeding on Bibionidae as they grew, and that this switch coincided with a shift from the use of the habitat where Tipulidae were abundant (alpine meadow/heathland) to the use of the habitat were Bibionidae were abundant (Willow shrub). Although chicks track food availability to some extent, the link between prey availability and habitat use was not perfect, indicating that additional factors other than food abundance, such as shelter from predators, determine habitat selection. Bibionidae are an important prey for Golden Plover chicks as it is the only prey group that has a late summer flush in abundance, in contrast to the general decline of total arthropod biomass during the chick‐rearing period. However, Bibionidae imagoes only occurred in 2011 and were virtually absent in 2013, which relates to the species’ ecology with 2‐ to 5‐year cycles in mass occurrence. Extreme annual variation in an essential food source such as Bibionidae imagoes might have an important effect on the condition and survival of Golden Plover chicks, an important subject for future studies. The foraging conditions for Golden Plover chicks in Fennoscandia appear to be different to those in the UK, where the chicks rely mainly on a Tipulidae flush only.     

A Bird and Small Mammal BACI and IG Design Studies in a Wind Farm in Malpica (Spain)

Wind farms have shown a spectacular growth during the last 10 years. As far as we know, this study is the first where the relationship between wind power and birds and small mammals have been considered. Before–after control impact (BACI) study design to birds and Impact Gradient (IG) study design to small mammals to test the null hypothesis of no impact of a wind farm were used. In the BACI model Windfarm Area and a Reference Area were considered. Distance from turbines was considered in the IG model. Windfarm installations did not clearly affect bird and small mammal populations. Flight height of nesting and no nesting birds did not show a clear tendency. Small mammals populations suffered high variations in numbers through times by intrinsic population factors. There are many practical problems of detection of human influence on abundances of populations so sampling in the long run can be suggested.     

Variation in the use of pasture by breeding European Golden Plovers Pluvialis apricaria in relation to prey availability

European Golden Plover Pluvialis apricaria populations have declined across Western Europe. Changes to upland grasslands that are utilized by foraging off-duty birds may have contributed to this decline. The use of enclosed agricultural land by a stable breeding population of Golden Plovers in the South Pennines is described to examine this hypothesis. Fields contained foraging plovers from the end of February to the end of July. Off-duty incubating birds commuted to feed on fields, females during the day and males at night. During the day, adults flew from 6.6 to 7.2 km from the nest to feed, whilst at night birds commuted from 2.4 to 2.7 km. The length of time spent foraging by males was inversely dependent upon daylength. Following hatching, the use of pasture declined, although not as much as in other studies. Arable and improved fields received most use by 15 radiotagged birds, whilst the use of pasture throughout the breeding season was negatively correlated with sward height. Adult diet consisted largely of subsurface prey, particularly larval tipulids, although earthworms were an important component in March and April. The biomass of larval tipulids was strongly correlated with an index of the use of fields. The selection of fields by Golden Plovers is therefore dependent upon prey abundance and availability, and, consequently, is likely to be enhanced by summer grazing and poor drainage. These findings are discussed in the light of recent trends in pastoral management.     

The direct and indirect effects of predation by Hen Harriers Circus cyaneus on trends in breeding birds on a Scottish grouse moor

Two phases of an experimental reduction in management at Langholm Moor in southwest Scotland provided an insight into factors that determined trends in the abundance of moorland birds. In 1992 the historical control of breeding Hen Harriers Circus cyaneus stopped and in 2000 grouse moor management was discontinued. Golden Plover Pluvialis apricaria , Lapwing Vanellus vanellus , Curlew Numenius arquata and Red Grouse Lagopus lagopus scoticus declined, whilst Carrion Crow Corvus corone and Snipe Gallinago gallinago increased. Hen Harriers increased from two to 20 breeding females, then declined back to two. Lapwing abundance was positively associated with that of Hen Harriers, and moorland passerines (Skylark Alauda arvensis , Meadow Pipit Anthus pratensis and Stonechat Saxicola torquata ) were negatively associated. Golden Plover, Lapwing, Curlew, Red Grouse, Skylark and Hen Harrier were more abundant when the moor was managed for grouse, whilst Carrion Crow, a common predator of clutches of ground-nesting birds, increased during the second half when management ceased. Increased Crow numbers, together with an increase in Red Foxes Vulpes vulpes , probably contributed to the observed bird declines.     

Bird movements at rotor heights measured continuously with vertical radar at a Dutch offshore wind farm

Assessing the impacts of avian collisions with wind turbines requires reliable estimates of avian flight intensities and altitudes, to enable accurate estimation of collision rates, avoidance rates and related effects on populations. At sea, obtaining such estimates visually is limited not only by weather conditions but, more importantly, because a high proportion of birds fly at night and at heights above the range of visual observation. We used vertical radar with automated bird‐tracking software to overcome these limitations and obtain data on the magnitude, timing and altitude of local bird movements and seasonal migration measured continuously at a Dutch offshore wind farm. An estimated 1.6 million radar echoes representing individual birds or flocks were recorded crossing the wind farm annually at altitudes between 25 and 115 m (the rotor‐swept zone). The majority of these fluxes consisted of gull species during the day and migrating passerines at night. We demonstrate daily, monthly and seasonal patterns in fluxes at rotor heights and the influence of wind direction on flight intensity. These data are among the first to show the magnitude and variation of low‐altitude flight activity across the North Sea, and are valuable for assessing the consequences of developments such as offshore wind farms for birds.     

Density-dependence and winter weather as factors affecting the size of a population of Golden Plovers Pluvialis apricaria

The results of annual censuses of a Golden Plover population in the Peak District, covering 24 years, are analysed. A strong density-dependent effect of the population in the previous year explained 26.7% of the variation in population growth. An additional 15.3% of the variation was accounted for by the severity of winter weather, as measured by mean monthly air temperature for November to February. There was no significant effect of weather during the breeding season upon Golden Plover population size, implying that any effects which spring and summer temperature or rainfall may have upon fledging success are masked by other factors. The importance of these results is discussed in the light of work on other wader species, and possible declines in Golden Plover numbers.     

What is the impact of wind farms on birds? A case study in southern Spain

Wind farming is a relatively new form of obtaining energy that does not cause air pollution or other forms of environmental degradation associated with fossil fuel technologies. However, their use impacts on the environment, and the current rate at which they are being put into operation, combined with poor understanding of their medium- and long-term impact, is a cause of concern. Wind farms represent a new source of impact and disturbance for birds that adds to the long list of disturbance factors caused by human activity, such as power lines, radio and television towers, highways, glass windows, the practice of poisoning, illegal hunting and overexploitation. Due to the precarious situation of several bird species and their decline, any additional cause of mortality may be significant and should give rise to increased attention and research. The aim of the present work is to analyse the effect of the “Sierra de Aguas” wind farm on bird density and abundance, flight behaviour, and bird mortality. Mortality rates did not increase due to the presence of the wind turbines. The results suggest that the presence and operation of the wind turbines did not have a clearly negative effect on passerine birds present in the region where wind farm is located. However, raptors used the space around the wind farm with lower frequency than prior to its existence, which represented a displacement of the home range of these species.     

Effect of wind farms on wintering ducks at an important wintering ground in China along the East Asian–Australasian Flyway

Wind farms offer a cleaner alternative to fossil fuels and can mitigate their negative effects on climate change. However, wind farms may have negative impacts on birds. The East China Coast forms a key part of the East Asian–Australasian Flyway, and it is a crucial region for wind energy development in China. However, despite ducks being the dominant animal taxon along the East China Coast in winter and considered as particularly vulnerable to the effects of wind farms, the potential negative impacts of wind farms on duck populations remain unclear. We therefore assessed the effects of wind farms on duck abundance, distribution, and habitat use at Chongming Dongtan, which is a major wintering site for ducks along the East Asian–Australasian Flyway, using field surveys and satellite tracking. We conducted seven paired field surveys of ducks inside wind farm (IWF) and outside wind farm (OWF) sites in artificial brackish marsh, paddy fields, and aquaculture ponds. Duck abundance was significantly higher in OWF compared with IWF sites and significantly higher in artificial brackish marsh than in aquaculture ponds and paddy fields. Based on 1,918 high‐resolution satellite tracking records, the main habitat types of ducks during the day and at night were artificial brackish marsh and paddy fields, respectively. Furthermore, grid‐based analysis showed overlaps between ducks and wind farms, with greater overlap at night than during the day. According to resource selection functions, habitat use by wintering ducks was impacted by distance to water, land cover, human activity, and wind farm effects, and the variables predicted to have significant impacts on duck habitat use differed between day and night. Our study suggests that wintering ducks tend to avoid wind turbines at Chongming Dongtan, and landscape of paddy fields and artificial wetlands adjoining natural wetlands is crucial for wintering ducks.     

Habitat selection, diet, arthropod availability and growth of a moorland wader: the ecology of European Golden Plover Pluvialis apricaria chicks

Habitat use, diet and food supply of European Golden Plover Pluvialis apricaria chicks were studied on blanket bog in the South Pennines, UK. The home ranges occupied by chicks until fledging averaged 40 ha; they contained relatively more cotton grass and bare peat than was available generally, but less heather and grassland. Use of Bilberry Vaccinium myrtillus and Crowberry Empetrum nigrum increased with age, whereas that of cotton grass Eriophorum spp. declined. Dietary composition, as assessed by faecal analysis, was similar to that obtained from the crops of dead birds. The diet of younger chicks, assessed by dry weight of prey, consisted of about 30% each of adult and larval tipulids, whereas for chicks older than 16 days, about 70% was tipulid larvae. Beetles, spiders and caterpillars each comprised 5–20% of the diet, depending on age. Older chicks took larger prey. The exploitation of larval tipulids was correlated positively with the chicks' use of cotton grass and bare peat areas, whereas caterpillars, beetles and spiders were more often taken from dwarf shrubs, reflecting variation in prey abundance. Bare peat was an important foraging habitat, whose exploitation was associated positively with the growth rate of young chicks, and with mean prey size. Both weight gain and survival of young chicks were positively correlated with the abundance of tipulid adults, confirming the hypothesis that the flush of tipulid hatching is an important determinant of breeding success. Golden Plover chicks are capable of considerable movements to track variation in prey availability. This behaviour is likely to be an important survival strategy facilitating the utilization of a mosaic of cotton grass and dwarf shrub habitats. Appropriate rotational strip-burning or grazing management could be used to create and maintain such habitats.     

Assessing the impacts of wind farms on birds

The potential effects of the proposed increase in wind energy developments on birds are explored using information from studies of existing wind farms. Evidence of the four main effects, collision, displacement due to disturbance, barrier effects and habitat loss, is presented and discussed. The consequences of such effects may be direct mortality or more subtle changes to condition and breeding success. The requirements for assessing the impact of future developments are summarized, including relevant environmental legislation and appropriate methods for undertaking baseline surveys and post-construction monitoring, with particular emphasis on the rapidly developing area of offshore wind farm assessments. Mitigation measures which have the potential to minimize impacts are also summarized. Finally, recent developments in the monitoring and research of wind energy impacts on birds are outlined and some areas for future work are described.     

Estimating flight height and flight speed of breeding Piping Plovers

Collisions with wind turbines are an increasing conservation concern for migratory birds that already face many threats. Existing collision‐risk models take into account parameters of wind turbines and bird flight behavior to estimate collision probability and mortality rates. Two behavioral characteristics these models require are the proportion of birds flying at the height of the rotor swept‐zone and the flight speed of birds passing through the rotor swept‐zone. In recent studies, investigators have measured flight height and flight speed of migrating birds using fixed‐beam radar and thermal imaging. These techniques work well for fixed areas where migrants commonly pass over, but they cannot readily provide species‐specific information. We measured flight heights of a nesting shorebird, the federally threatened Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus), using optical range finding and measured flight speed using videography. Several single‐turbine wind projects have been proposed for the Atlantic coast of the United States where they may pose a potential threat to these plovers. We studied Piping Plovers in New Jersey and Massachusetts during the breeding seasons of 2012 and 2013. Measured flight heights ranged from 0.7 to 10.5 m with a mean of 2.6 m (N = 19). Concurrent visually estimated flight heights were all within 2 m of measured heights and most within 1 m. In separate surveys, average visually estimated flight height was 2.6 m (N = 1674) and ranged from 0.25 m to 40 m. Average calculated flight speed was 9.30 m/s (N = 17). Optical range finding was challenging, but provided a useful way to calibrate visual estimates where frames of reference were lacking in the environment. Our techniques provide comparatively inexpensive, replicable procedures for estimating turbine collision‐risk parameters where the focus is on discrete nesting areas of specific species where birds follow predictable flight paths.     

Impact of wind turbines on birds in Zeebrugge (Belgium)

We studied the impact of a wind farm (line of 25 small to medium sized turbines) on birds at the eastern port breakwater in Zeebrugge, Belgium, with special attention to the nearby breeding colony of Common Tern Sterna hirundo, Sandwich Tern Sterna sandvicensis and Little Tern Sterna albifrons. With the data of found collision fatalities under the wind turbines, and the correction factors for available search area, search efficiency and scavenging, we calculated that during the breeding seasons in 2004 and 2005, about 168 resp. 161 terns collided with the wind turbines located on the eastern port breakwater close to the breeding colony, mainly Common Terns and Sandwich Terns. The mean number of terns killed in 2004 and 2005 was 6.7 per turbine per year for the whole wind farm, and 11.2 resp. 10.8 per turbine per year for the line of 14 turbines on the sea-directed breakwater close to the breeding colony. The mean number of collision fatalities when including other species (mainly gulls) in 2004 and 2005 was 20.9 resp. 19.1 per turbine per year for the whole wind farm and 34.3 resp. 27.6 per turbine per year for 14 turbines on the sea-directed breakwater. The collision probability for Common Terns crossing the line of wind turbines amounted 0.110–0.118% for flights at rotor height and 0.007–0.030% for all flights. For Sandwich Tern this probability was 0.046–0.088% for flights at rotor height and 0.005–0.006% for all flights. The breeding terns were almost not disturbed by the wind turbines, but the relative large number of tern fatalities was determined as a significant negative impact on the breeding colony at the eastern port breakwater (additional mortality of 3.0–4.4% for Common Tern, 1.8–6.7% for Little Tern and 0.6–0.7% for Sandwich Tern). We recommend that there should be precautionary avoidance of constructing wind turbines close to any important breeding colony of terns or gulls, nor should artificial breeding sites be constructed near wind turbines, especially not within the frequent foraging flight paths.     

Effects of Wind Turbine Curtailment on Bird and Bat Fatalities

Bird and bat fatalities increase with wind energy expansion and the only effective fatality-reduction measure has been operational curtailment, which has been documented for bats but not for birds. We performed opportune before-after, control-impact (BACI) experiments of curtailment effects on bird and bat fatalities and nocturnal passage rates during fall migration at 2 wind projects, where 1 continued operating and the other shut down from peak migration to the study's end (study 1). We also performed BACI experiments during a 3-year study of curtailment and operational effects on bird fatalities among wind turbines of varying operational status (study 2). In study 1, wind turbine curtailment significantly reduced near-misses and rotor-disrupted flights of bats, and it significantly reduced fatalities of bats but not of birds. In study 2, converting wind turbines from inoperable to operable status did not significantly increase bird fatalities, and bird species of hole or sheltered-ledge nesters or roosters on human-made structures died in substantial numbers at vacant towers. Of bird species represented by fatalities in study 2, 79% were found at inoperable wind turbines. Because the migration season is relatively brief, seasonal curtailment would greatly reduce bat fatalities for a slight loss in annual energy generation, but it might not benefit many bird species. © 2020 The Authors. The Journal of Wildlife Management published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of The Wildlife Society.     

The influence of survey frequency on population estimates of moorland breeding birds

Capsule A minimum of four constant‐effort‐search survey visits are required to generate reliable population estimates of breeding birds on moorland that are not subject to biases associated with varying levels of detectability through the season.

Aims To investigate the influence of the number and the combination of survey visits on the population estimates of breeding birds on moorland.

Methods Four constant‐effort‐search surveys (80–100 minutes per km² per visit) of moorland in southwest Scotland were undertaken in each of six years, 2003–2008. Using standard protocols, the numbers of apparent territories that would have been identified for each possible combination of survey visits were determined.glms were used to assess the influence of the frequency of survey visits, and different combination scenarios on the derived population estimates for Red Grouse, European Golden Plover, Common Snipe, Eurasian Curlew, Sky Lark, Winter Wren and Stonechat. Independent assessments of population density were made by transect sampling for Red Grouse and Sky Lark.

Results Robust population estimates were possible from three survey visits for European Golden Plover, Eurasian Curlew and Stonechat. However, there were differences between species in the seasonal variation of their detectability. Four survey visits would underestimate the populations of Red Grouse (probably by 67–91%), Sky Lark (probably by 31–61%) and Winter Wren (by an undetermined proportion). Common Snipe were also likely to be underestimated after four survey visits, but the value of the derived estimate as an index of population density deserves further investigation.

Conclusions If there is a need to carry out a multi‐species survey on moorland, we suggest that a minimum of four survey visits is required to ensure the derivation of reliable population estimates for a suite of the most readily detectable species. Population estimates derived from three or fewer survey visits risk biases through uneven sampling in periods of differing detectability. With evidence for changes in the breeding phenology of birds associated with changing climate or weather patterns, it arguably becomes more important to ensure that surveys sample an adequately broad period of the breeding season.     

Reindeer habitat use in relation to two small wind farms,during preconstruction,construction, and operation

Worldwide there is a rush toward wind power development and its associated infrastructure. In Fennoscandia, large‐scale wind farms comprising several hundred windmills are currently built in important grazing ranges used for Sámi reindeer husbandry. In this study, reindeer habitat use was assessed using reindeer fecal pellet group counts in relation to two relatively small wind farms, with 8 and 10 turbines, respectively. In 2009, 1,315 15‐m² plots were established and pellet groups were counted and cleaned from the plots. This was repeated once a year in May, during preconstruction, construction, and operation of the wind farms, covering 6 years (2009–2014) of reindeer habitat use in the area. We modeled the presence/absence of any pellets in a plot at both the local (wind farm site) and regional (reindeer calving to autumn range) scale with a hierarchical logistic regression, where spatial correlation was accounted for via random effects, using vegetation type, and the interaction between distance to wind turbine and time period as predictor variables. Our results revealed an absolute reduction in pellet groups by 66% and 86% around each wind farm, respectively, at local scale and by 61% at regional scale during the operation phase compared to the preconstruction phase. At the regional, scale habitat use declined close to the turbines in the same comparison. However, at the local scale, we observed increased habitat use close to the wind turbines at one of the wind farms during the operation phase. This may be explained by continued use of an important migration route close to the wind farm. The reduced use at the regional scale nevertheless suggests that there may be an overall avoidance of both wind farms during operation, but further studies of reindeer movement and behavior are needed to gain a better understanding of the mechanisms behind this suggested avoidance.     

基于功能和谱系视角分析繁殖留鸟对风机的响应

风电作为清洁可再生绿色能源越来越受到世界各国的重视,其建设规模也在不断扩大,导致风电建设与鸟类保护的矛盾进一步凸显,如何协调风电发展与物种保护已成为生态学家和保护生物学家关注的热点主题。为了探究风机对鸟类物种、功能和谱系的影响,本研究于2019年1、3、4、5月,采用样线法对连山风电场的鸟类多样性进行了4次调查。根据样线离风机距离的远近设置4个梯度: 100～300 m有6条样线,300～500 m 有13条样线,500～700 m 有8条样线,>700 m 有5条样线。结果表明: 本次调查中记录了繁殖留鸟76种,隶属于11目31科,目、科中数量最多是雀形目(53种)和画眉科(12种)。鸟类物种丰富度、功能丰富度(FRic)和谱系多样性(Faith PD)随着离风机距离的增加呈增加趋势: 在500 m以内未显著增加,500 m外呈显著增加趋势;鸟类群落水平的扩散能力呈现出增加趋势。鸟类群落的平均成对功能和谱系距离的标准化效应值(SES.MFD和SES.MPD)均小于0,其中显著低于随机值的样线占比约为50%(P<0.05)。风力发电机对鸟类物种、功能和谱系的影响主要在前500 m的距离;本研究的4个梯度中,鸟类群落的功能和谱系结构均表现为聚集特征。研究证实,风机对鸟类的影响是多维度的,在评估风机对鸟类群落的影响时仅考虑物种多样性可能难以提供全面的信息。