Non-statistical methods

Question 1

Amherst Island Size+pop

Answer 1

67km squared, 400 ish ppl

Question 2

Amherst island wind turbines

Answer 2

26 3.2megawatt siemens turbines (about 100 m hub height and 55m blad length) installed winter 2018 and started generating power in june 2018

Question 3

Amherst Island collisions

Answer 3

3 in 2019, and 2020 (although also like 7 if we look at overall collections, their methods are kind of strange tbh), 9 in 2021. over provincial threshold in 2020 and 2021 leading to mitigation strategies put in place (not sure what they are but likely stopping turbines during migration).

Question 4

Potential mitigation for collisions

Answer 4

• buffers (aka physical separation using natural boundaries like vegetation)
• reducing turbine use during important migration times for example

Question 5

Study species

Answer 5

Northern Harrier, Bald Eagle, Red-tailed Hawk, Rough-legged Hawk, Snowy Owl, and American Kestrel. (and for abundance short eared owl (few recordings but high numbers) and northern shrike (low numbers but recorded regularly).

Question 6

why not turkey vultures?

Answer 6

mainly transient migrants- occasional winter straggler that doesn’t really feed on voles so not included. (But when I ran the analyses on them they turned out the same as the others - no difs)

Question 7

Survey methods

Answer 7

jan-april
3 years before/after construction
no 2018 bc of construction
no 2020/2021 because of covid (which i could change that)
consistent route around the island, alternated sides. during day bc most spp are diurnal except short eared owls which are crepuscular. 80 ish km in total. between 6-10 surveys a year. google maps and lat and long.

Question 8

Is it possible to identify individuals

Answer 8

Occasionally yes, specific plumage or flight direction can help. in addition, some individuals stay in similar territory regularly. however, it is not always possible and could lead to some error. But our observer remained the same person so hopefully these errors were relatively consistent. In addition, we were not looking for variation in individuals necessarily, more patters in where the raptors were found so although it may be a source of error i do not believe it changes the strength of our study.

Question 9

Control sites

Answer 9

same number as turbine sites. although lumped together, follow our rules and follows how true turbines would be if farmers allowed building in those spaces.