Kittiwakes are among the seabirds most vulnerable to collision with offshore wind turbine blades, with population-level welfare implications as UK wind farm expansion accelerates.
Collision with turbine blades causes acute traumatic injury and death. For a population already in steep decline, additional mortality from offshore wind represents a compounding welfare and conservation threat. Individual collision events cause traumatic injuries before death, representing an acute welfare harm. At the population level, elevated mortality rates reduce breeding success and accelerate decline. Meaningful mitigation — radar-triggered curtailment, deterrent systems, and careful spatial planning away from key foraging areas — is needed to reduce individual and population welfare costs of offshore wind expansion.