Green power is black hole for rare eagles

AUSTRALIA'S biggest wind farm in north-west Tasmania has become a "black hole" for endangered wedge-tailed eagles. The 62-tower Woolnorth farm has killed up to 18 of the island's endangered subspecies of the wedge-tail in its giant rotor blades. Despite their acute vision, the eagles are failing to pick out turbine blades with tips that can rotate at 300 kmh, according to Eric Woehler, chairman of Birds Tasmania. "Eagles evolved in a landscape without wind farms," Dr Woehler said. "They just don't see the blades. The researchers there are finding that they are dying not only in the downsweep, but in the upsweep of the blades."