Wind turbines are often built in areas where raptors hunt, and so the turbines end up killing a lot of raptors. Raptor species have relatively low populations, ranging from a few hundred thousand to a couple million or so.
Most of the species of birds that live in more densely populated areas, which also tend to be where we have more buildings and cars and cats, are much more abundant. Around 80 million house sparrows, for example, around 150 million starlings, and around 200 million house finches.
So even though many more birds die by running into buildings, cars, or cats, in most places in the US those are almost all birds that are so numerous that this has much less impact on their species than the much smaller absolute number of raptors that die running into wind turbines.
Agreed. Also the "cats" figures mostly come from "unowned" feral cats rather than from pets. Which makes them a tougher problem to deal with. I'm sure spaying and neutering policies help but I don't know how much.
There's no question the problem is more subtle than the raw numbers suggest. There's also no question that some factions within the anti-renewable energy crowd misstate the "bird strike" problem deliberately.
Wind turbines are often built in areas where raptors hunt, and so the turbines end up killing a lot of raptors. Raptor species have relatively low populations, ranging from a few hundred thousand to a couple million or so.
Most of the species of birds that live in more densely populated areas, which also tend to be where we have more buildings and cars and cats, are much more abundant. Around 80 million house sparrows, for example, around 150 million starlings, and around 200 million house finches.
So even though many more birds die by running into buildings, cars, or cats, in most places in the US those are almost all birds that are so numerous that this has much less impact on their species than the much smaller absolute number of raptors that die running into wind turbines.