The team looked at how birds perceive and navigate the world, and propose blade patterns, such as diagonal stripes or a trailing edge, could improve visibility and reduce bird collisions. While more field-based tests are needed, the team says these designs could help protect wildlife without stopping renewable technology.

Birds perceive and navigate the world differently from humans, and so understanding their vision and flight patterns is essential to predict how they may respond to turbines.

Bird fatalities from wind turbine collisions are set to rise with the transition to renewable energy generation. Birds live in a very different sensory world to humans, so to understand how they respond to novel objects in their airspace the research combines knowledge of their sensory ecology, visual strategies, flight behaviour and collision avoidance. We propose new turbine blade patterns which aim to improve detection and avoidance of the blades.

Ultimately, the authors aim to guide new research towards bio-informed solutions that protect wildlife without inhibiting clean energy.