What the Surveys Actually Measured
Raptor mortality surveys do not rely on chance sightings. Trained observers walk transects beneath turbine arrays on a fixed schedule, recording carcasses, feathers, and strike evidence. In Kutch, surveys have documented collision mortality among species using the Rann's open scrubland and seasonal wetlands as foraging and passage habitat, including the Steppe Eagle, a long-distance migrant that funnels through Gujarat on its way between Central Asian breeding grounds and Indian wintering sites. In Tamil Nadu's wind-dense districts around Tirunelveli and the Palghat Gap, the species mix shifts: resident raptors such as the Black-shouldered Kite, Shikra, and various Buteo buzzards appear in collision records alongside migratory Amur Falcons and Montagu's Harriers during peak passage months.
