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Actually cats are the #1 killer of birds, and they kill more birds than all those power sources. Cats kill around 2.5 billion birds each year in America.
Chemicals and collisions with windows on tall buildings also kill a lot of birds. About a third of the 800 species of birds in the USA are endangered, threatened or in significant decline, according to the American Bird Conservancy.
It is actually an interesting problem. What you have is some large number of light beams overlapping in the area near the target creating a clear area with very high energy incident on it. Equivalent of perhaps a few hundred suns.
So how do you keep birds away? I am surprised they don't pick up a clue as they enter. Perhaps on some vectors it simply increases too fast to create discomfort before the animal gets fried. Perhaps they need some mirrors detuned so the bird hits unpleasant heat before fatal. Perhaps a set of mirrors that track quickly making a moving four or five sun area that sweeps around to scare birds that get close.
Or perhaps a noise system. Very loud bird distress calls? Bad metal rock? Something to at least make a fast moving bird suspicious?
You could probably build some structure above the target. Interesting engineering problem to make a structure anchor to an item that is up in the white hot range. Perhaps ceramic risers to get you above the hgh heat zone than some sort of containment roof that tracks the edge of the heat outward?
How about a set of tethered or microwave driven drones that cluster some yards out and intercept anything approaching. Heck just plain old drones...easily recharged. Could be little expendables that just annoy any bird that tries to approach.
Whack the bird with a laser if it tries to approach? A non fatal version of the fly zapper?
It is actually an interesting problem. What you have is some large number of light beams overlapping in the area near the target creating a clear area with very high energy incident on it. Equivalent of perhaps a few hundred suns.
So how do you keep birds away? I am surprised they don't pick up a clue as they enter. Perhaps on some vectors it simply increases too fast to create discomfort before the animal gets fried. Perhaps they need some mirrors detuned so the bird hits unpleasant heat before fatal. Perhaps a set of mirrors that track quickly making a moving four or five sun area that sweeps around to scare birds that get close.
Or perhaps a noise system. Very loud bird distress calls? Bad metal rock? Something to at least make a fast moving bird suspicious?
Barry Manilow turned all the way up. Birds, rats, cockroaches, sidewinders - nothing would get near that.
It is actually an interesting problem. What you have is some large number of light beams overlapping in the area near the target creating a clear area with very high energy incident on it. Equivalent of perhaps a few hundred suns.
So how do you keep birds away? I am surprised they don't pick up a clue as they enter. Perhaps on some vectors it simply increases too fast to create discomfort before the animal gets fried. Perhaps they need some mirrors detuned so the bird hits unpleasant heat before fatal. Perhaps a set of mirrors that track quickly making a moving four or five sun area that sweeps around to scare birds that get close.
Or perhaps a noise system. Very loud bird distress calls? Bad metal rock? Something to at least make a fast moving bird suspicious?
You could probably build some structure above the target. Interesting engineering problem to make a structure anchor to an item that is up in the white hot range. Perhaps ceramic risers to get you above the hgh heat zone than some sort of containment roof that tracks the edge of the heat outward?
How about a set of tethered or microwave driven drones that cluster some yards out and intercept anything approaching. Heck just plain old drones...easily recharged. Could be little expendables that just annoy any bird that tries to approach.
Whack the bird with a laser if it tries to approach? A non fatal version of the fly zapper?
I have seen documentaries about people who have the job of keeping birds away from airports and certain buildings, because the birds are a danger to planes and their droppings damage buildings.
They used trained falcons, gun fired fireworks, trained dogs, and kites. The following source lists other tactics they use (like lasers and a heli-kite.) I was surprised to learn that the Kennedy International Airport uses real shotguns to shoot birds, in 2009 they shot and killed 1,093 birds.
If solar thermal can keep pushing efficiency higher and figure out a way to push excess heat into storage (molten salt?), the input costs are rather favorable...and the plant operators get delivery!
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