An innovative look at bat behaviour and risk through a large-scale thermal camera deployment

Given the increasing demand for wind energy to meet decarbonization goals, better understanding bat behaviour and risk at wind turbines is a high priority.  Available thermal camera evidence reveals that not all bat activity leads to collision or impact.  A better understanding of bat activity is needed.   In 2023, Pattern deployed Wildlife Imaging thermal cameras at 11 wind facilities across North America with the objective of collecting and analyzing bat activity data to better understand bat behavior with potential applicability at both the landscape and site-specific levels.   Pattern now has two years of data from 55 thermal cameras at 11 different wind facilities across North America.   To our knowledge, this is a unique dataset with potential to provide new insights into bat activity and behaviour across time and space.  Initial data analysis has ranged from mapping bat activity over time to investigating potential variations in bat activity.  Based on an initial review of the data, we see differences in bat flight patterns.  It is also apparent that risk is not consistent or equal throughout a night or across a season.  Learning more about risk is relevant to refining the way we minimize and monitor impacts to bats from wind energy.