A kiddie pool full of rubber bald eagles isn’t exactly what most college students would expect to find outside their campus apartment complex. But at the University of Virginia, CFACT Collegian Aiden Shirkey had a good reason for his unique setup: showing students that wind energy isn’t always so friendly to wildlife.
Outside on a busy campus porch, Aiden brought CFACT’s interactive “Bird or Turbine?” challenge to passing students, putting a twist on the classic “Lucky Duck” carnival game by trading rubber duckies for bald eagles and turning a childhood favorite into a lesson on the dangers wind turbines pose to birds.
CFACT Collegian Aiden Shirkey shows a student how to play CFACT’s “Bird or Turbine?” game
Hidden underneath nine of the twelve eagles were stickers representing an unfortunate encounter with a wind turbine. Only three escaped unscathed.
As students revealed their birds’ fates, Aiden left them with a few eye-opening facts to ponder about wind energy’s impact on wildlife. Wind turbines are estimated to kill hundreds of thousands of birds each year in the United States — including eagles, hawks, and falcons.
The concerns don’t stop at collisions with turbines. Wind farms also disrupt habitats and migration routes, creating additional challenges for our feathered friends.
The display of rubber eagles floating among fake blood is a reminder that renewable energy isn’t always as harmless as it seems
For these rubber eagles, luck was part of the game. As for real wildlife, conservation shouldn’t be left up to chance.
Throughout Aiden’s event, over 25 students stopped by to play, and others passing the table caught a glimpse on their way to class. “Stop Windmills” — doesn’t get much more straightforward than that!
Aiden poses with the CFACT flag at the conclusion of his successful “Bird or Turbine?” event
Aiden also handed out CFACT stickers featuring slogans like “Habitat Matters” and “I Heart CO₂,” which were an especially big hit among students, alongside informational flyers such as “Hidden Costs of Wind & Solar.”
While wind farms are heavily promoted as the future of energy and as environmentally friendly, CFACT made sure UVA students understood that there’s more to conservation than simply producing clean energy. Protecting wildlife and preserving natural habitats deserve a place in the conversation, too.