Abstract
In Hokkaido, northern Japan, accidental collisions with wind turbines have become one of the largest conservation issues for white-tailed sea eagles Haliaeetus albicilla. To investigate whether the presence of food in the vicinity of wind turbines may result in behaviors that increase the risk of collision, feeding experiments were carried out at a safe location in Hokkaido from 2014 to 2016. For both white-tailed and Steller's sea eagles H. pelagicus, the frequency of flying looking downwards increased when the food was placed on the ground. Furthermore, the frequency of interference by other individuals also increased with feeding. It is known that eagles can visually recognize the wind turbines in front of them, but that they cannot recognize the structures when flying looking downwards. These results suggest that the presence of food in the vicinity of turbines induces behaviors that may increase the collision risk with wind turbines for both white-tailed and Steller's sea eagles.
