Wind Energy and Wildlife Conservation Habitat Utilization in White-Tailed Eagles (Haliaeetus albicilla) and the Displacement Impact of the Smøla Wind-Power Plant ROEL MAY, 1 Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, P.O. Box 5685 Sluppen, NO-7485 Trondheim, Norway TORGEIR NYGA ˚ RD, Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, P.O. Box 5685 Sluppen, NO-7485 Trondheim, Norway ESPEN LIE DAHL, Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, P.O. Box 5685 Sluppen, NO-7485 Trondheim, Norway KJETIL BEVANGER, Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, P.O. Box 5685 Sluppen, NO-7485 Trondheim, Norway ABSTRACT On average, 7.8 white-tailed eagles (Haliaeetus albicilla) collide with wind turbines annually at the operating wind-power plant on the island of Smøla off the coast of central Norway. To better understand the impact of this wind-power plant on white-tailed eagles, we investigated how habitat utilization affected displacement effects. We collected data on habitat utilization in non-territorial subadult white-tailed eagles using global positioning system satellite telemetry (2004–2009). From these data, we estimated utilization distributions using the Brownian bridge movement model and analyzed them using Resource Utilization Functions. Home ranges were circa 10–30% smaller for subadults hatched on skerries and islets farther from the wind-power plant, and tended to be circa 40% larger during spring. Shallow sea, skerries, and islets were utilized extensively, as was marsh, heathland, and forest on the main island of Smøla. We noted lower selectivity for arable land and higher levels of differentiation in utilization among individuals for forest and islets. Females also had a nearly 4 times higher between-individual variation, which was likely due to long- ranging excursions. The within- and between-individual variation among seasons showed an annual pattern, with increasing between-individual variation toward summer. Displacement (indicated by an overall 40% proportional reduction in utilization) was more pronounced in the birds’ second and third calendar year compared with their first calendar year, and during autumn–winter. Reduced displacement during spring coincides with the white-tailed eagle pre-breeding period with increased flight activity. This may, in part, explain increased collision risk during spring. Possible displacement effects in white-tailed eagles may be avoided by siting wind-power plants farther inland or offshore. ß 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. KEY WORDS avoidance, collision risk, displacement, habitat use, habitat utilization, Haliaeetus albicilla, Norway, wind turbines. Renewable energy is seen as an important measure to reduce the effects of climate change (Pachauri and Reisinger 2007, IPCC 2011). Although Norway has its main energy produc- tion from renewable sources such as hydropower, the country has committed itself to follow the European Union Renewable Energy Directive and increase the renewable production to cover 67.5% of the total consumption within 2020. As the majority of the hydropower resources are exhausted, within the coming decade wind resources will be exploited especially in coastal areas, where already several wind-power plants are operational or under construction. However, the long and diverse Norwegian coast, which includes offshore archipelagos and shallow waters, also con- stitutes important European habitats for migrating and resi- dent sea and coastal birds (Richardson 2000, Barrett et al. 2006). Large soaring birds of prey and long-lived seabirds are recognized to be especially vulnerable to collisions with turbines (Barrios and Rodriguez 2004; Garthe and Hu ¨ppop 2004; Hoover and Morrison 2005; Smallwood and Thelander 2008; Carrete et al. 2009, 2012). In addition to direct collision mortality, raptors and sea birds may also be displaced from their natural habitats due to wind-energy development (Larsen and Madsen 2000, Madsen and Boertmann 2008, Pearce-Higgins et al. 2009, Garvin et al. 2011, Dahl et al. 2012). In Norway, one of the species that is known to be especially vulnerable to wind-energy development is the white-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla). The conflicts at the Smøla wind- power plant, and the extensive research project (2004–2011) that studied them, have received much media attention internationally as a ‘‘worst case’’ (Bevanger et al. 2010b), similar to the Altamont Pass Wind Resource Area (Smallwood and Thelander 2008). On average, 7.8 white- tailed eagles collide with wind turbines at the Smøla wind- power plant annually (approx. 0.1 eagle/2.3-MW turbine/yr; Bevanger et al. 2010b). The white-tailed eagle is the largest Published: 19 March 2013 1 E-mail: roel.may@nina.no Wildlife Society Bulletin 37(1):75–83; 2013; DOI: 10.1002/wsb.264 May et al.  Habitat Utilization and Wind-Turbine Displacement 75