IdentiFlight cuts eagle deaths by an estimated 50–82%

Peregrine Fund, WEST and USGS researchers estimated an 82% (75%–89%) relative cut in eagle deaths at a Wyoming wind farm after IdentiFlight curtailment; a 2023 reanalysis put it at 50% (−159%, 89%).

ⓘ

AI system

System

IdentiFlight automated eagle detection and turbine curtailment (camera system with machine-learning classification)

Model

Not assessed

Release

Not assessed

Application developer

IdentiFlight (Boulder Imaging)

Role

Not assessed

Configuration

Not assessed

Inputs and outputs

Not assessed

Autonomy

Not assessed

Workflow

Camera towers covering turbine airspace with per-turbine curtailment control. Carcass searches corrected for detection probability at treatment and control sites. A single post-treatment year at one site, which the reanalysis says limits causal inference.

Human oversight

Not assessed

Relation to AI

The system's classification decisions trigger curtailment, so any fatality reduction runs through the AI. The peer-reviewed estimate is independent of the maker but is challenged by a peer-reviewed reanalysis (50%, interval including zero). The California assessment shows 23% of eagles missed and six times more non-eagle than eagle curtailments. The size of the benefit is therefore unsettled.

AI contribution

The system's classification decisions trigger curtailment, so any fatality reduction runs through the AI. The peer-reviewed estimate is independent of the maker but is challenged by a peer-reviewed reanalysis (50%, interval including zero). The California assessment shows 23% of eagles missed and six times more non-eagle than eagle curtailments. The size of the benefit is therefore unsettled.

Benefits

Outcome identifiers

Not assessed

Benefit

82% (75%–89%) relative cut in eagle deaths at a Wyoming wind farm

Category

Improved Environmental Sustainability

Status

Not assessed

Beneficiary groups

Society. Organizations.

Beneficiaries

Not assessed

Reach

Not assessed

Distribution and access

Not assessed

Duration

Not assessed

Expected?

Yes

Costs and harms

Not assessed

Measurement

Studies

Not assessed

Study design

Not assessed

Measurement

Not assessed

Setting and sample

Not assessed

Measures

82% (75%–89%) relative cut in eagle deaths at a Wyoming wind farm

Comparison

a control wind facility 15 km away without automated curtailment, before and after the installation

Results

Reference: increasing at the control site by 113% (51%–218%). Result: the number of fatalities at the treatment site declined by 63% (95% CI = 59%–66%).

Additional value from AI

Not assessed

Limitations

Not assessed

Denominators

Not assessed

Materials for replication

Not assessed

Money

Kind of value

Not assessed

Amount

Not assessed

Currency and prices

Not assessed

Period and unit

Not assessed

Realization

Not assessed

Recipients and payers

Not assessed

Gross or net

Not assessed

Included costs

Not assessed

Comparison

Not assessed

Method

Not assessed

Return and payback

Not assessed

People and places

Participants

Developer: IdentiFlight (Boulder Imaging). Operator: Top of the World Windpower Facility, Wyoming.

Jurisdictions

Benefit: Wyoming, United States. Developer: United States. Operator: United States.

Ownership and control

Not assessed

Dependencies

Not assessed

Cross-border connections

Not assessed

Geopolitical implications

Not assessed

Follow-up

Conditions for replication

Eagle abundance and flight behavior comparable to the Wyoming site. Operators willing to accept curtailment losses, including misidentified non-eagle targets. Longer, replicated monitoring to resolve the disputed effect size.

Replication attempts

3 follow-up entries. Outcome unresolved: 2. Benefit recurred: 1.

Later findings

30 August 2023. A USGS reanalysis by Huso and Dalthorp found the 82% claim unsupported, estimating a 50% reduction with an interval spanning an increase; the original authors published a rebuttal the same day.

Availability

Not assessed

Institutional decision

Not assessed

Grounds

Not assessed

Action and result

Not assessed

Success criterion

Not assessed

Evidence

Source numbers

AIBD-0167-source-0001–0009

Citations

Numbered references below.

Language

Not assessed

Source relationships

Independent

Original evidence

Not assessed

Access and versions

Not assessed

Supported findings

Not assessed

Evidence strength

Not assessed

Missing evidence

Not assessed

Grades

Assessed benefits

Society. Organizations.

Depth

Not assessed

Reasons

Society: Reduced eagle fatalities are an aggregate estimate whose size is disputed; no individually attributable outcome is documented. Organizations: The operator's benefit (fewer protected-species fatalities) is not quantified independently of the disputed estimate.

Observed or intended

Not assessed

Rubric

Not assessed

Assessor and date

Not assessed

Alternative assessments

Not assessed

Fill

Independently studied

Entry details

Kind

Not assessed

Field

Energy. Wind power wildlife mitigation.

Purpose

IdentiFlight is built to detect and classify flying eagles and curtail individual turbines to avoid collisions; reduced eagle fatalities are the intended outcome.

Dates

Date basis unassessed: 2021 (precision unassessed). Updated: 21 October 2026.

Stage

Not assessed

Version

SHA-256: 8121fb847884…

References

Other identifiers

Not assessed

Category mappings

Not assessed

Brief

Not assessed

Revisions

7 revisions. Latest: 21 October 2026.

Sources

  1. Peer-reviewed study Independent author

    McClure, C. J. W., Rolek, B. W., Dunn, L., McCabe, J. D., Martinson, L., Katzner, T., 'Eagle fatalities are reduced by automated curtailment of wind turbines', Journal of Applied Ecology (2021), doi:10.1111/1365-2664.13831

  2. Peer-reviewed study Independent author

    Huso, M., Dalthorp, D., 'Reanalysis indicates little evidence of reduction in eagle mortality rate by automated curtailment of wind turbines', Journal of Applied Ecology (2023), doi:10.1111/1365-2664.14196

  3. Peer-reviewed study Independent author

    McClure, C. J. W. et al., 'Reanalysis ignores pertinent data, includes inappropriate observations, and disregards realities of applied ecology: Response to Huso and Dalthorp (2023)', Journal of Applied Ecology (2023), doi:10.1111/1365-2664.14490

  4. Peer-reviewed study Independent author

    Duerr, A. E., Parsons, A. E., Nagy, L. R., Kuehn, M. J., Bloom, P. H., 'Effectiveness of an artificial intelligence-based system to curtail wind turbines to reduce eagle collisions', PLoS One (2023), doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0278754

  5. Peer-reviewed study Independent author

    McClure, C. J. W., Rolek, B. W., Dunn, L., McCabe, J. D., Martinson, L., Katzner, T. E. (2022). Confirmation that eagle fatalities can be reduced by automated curtailment of wind turbines. Ecological Solutions and Evidence, published online 26 Aug 2022. doi:10.1002/2688-8319.12173

  6. Peer-reviewed study Independent author

    McClure, C. J. W., Rolek, B. W., Dunn, L., McCabe, J. D., Martinson, L., Katzner, T. (2021). Eagle fatalities are reduced by automated curtailment of wind turbines. Journal of Applied Ecology 58(3): 446-452, as recorded in the USGS Publications Warehouse.

  7. Peer-reviewed study Independent author

    Huso, M., Dalthorp, D. (2023). Reanalysis indicates little evidence of reduction in eagle mortality rate by automated curtailment of wind turbines. Journal of Applied Ecology, 30 August 2023, as recorded in the USGS Publications Warehouse.

  8. News report Independent author

    Andrew Lee, 'Wind farm eagle deaths cut by 82% as smart cameras spot birds then halt turbines', Recharge, 28 January 2021

  9. Registry label Independent author

    OECD AI Incidents Monitor, record 2021-01-28-085c

Collections: Scrutiny and findings, Security and threat-watching.