Spring flyways of migrating soaring birds in Akkar Northern Lebanon

Abstract EN

Beale and Ramadan-Jaradi initiated in 2001 the first large scale survey in Lebanon to trace the main routes of migrating raptors and other soaring birds, aiming at contributing to the conservation of flyways and stopover sites through the identification of areas where protection is most needed.

Nowadays, the study of the flyways and stopover sites at micro level becomes necessary following the development of the national wind atlas map that will assist among others in locating potential wind farms which on their turn may influence the migratory birds’ flyways, especially that the wind farms use winds for their function and the soaring birds use wind for their transportation.

The present work starts from where the work of Beale and Ramadan-Jaradi ended but in an attempt to provide policy makers, scientists and experts with a conceptual framework, as well as methodological and operational tools for dealing with wind farms impacts and to prevent collisions of birds with blades of wind turbines.

The study is meant to be conducted during spring and autumn passage of birds.

This paper concerns the spring migration as at the time of writing it the autumn migration didn’t start yet.

The present spring season study revealed among others that the migratory soaring birds that may use the wind ridge lifts for their soaring travel in windy areas are more influenced by two other main factors: 1) presence of depressions perpendicular to mountain’s ridges and 2) abundance of the thermals in these depressions, a matter that naturally reduces the impact of wind turbines by attracting the birds away from their blades.-