UK’s offshore windfarms to be painted black to protect birds

Estimates suggest each offshore turbine kills between four and 18 birds each year. Photograph: Ben Birchall/PA

Offshore windfarms are to be painted black in an effort to reduce the number of birds that die after flying into them.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has launched a four-year trial to paint the wind turbines after officials raised concerns that the government’s plan to increase turbine numbers in the North Sea could spell danger for seabirds. Limited research has been conducted on the number of birds killed this way, but estimates range from four to 18 per turbine per year.