Bill Evans began work in 1985 studying the calls birds give in nocturnal migration. By 2000, his expertise was in demand from wind energy developers who were required to do wildlife studies to get their projects approved. His night flight call studies had given him unique insight into what species were present in nocturnal migration and what species might be subject to collisions with behemoth rotors slicing through the night. By 2015, he was also getting a lot of work from towns and citizens groups concerned about the impacts of wind energy in their neighborhoods. In that year a law firm representing the Town of Somerset, NY hired Bill to review the potential avian impacts of the Lighthouse Wind Project, which was on track to be the first US wind project built in the coastal zone of a large body of water. Bill agreed with others involved that large coastal concentrations of migrants would potentially be impacted by the project. He was soon carrying out an avian night flight call study to collect data, which ultimately confirmed the potential elevated avian impact of this project. The study was funded by the citizens group spearheading the opposition to the wind project, Save Ontario Shores, Inc. In the ensuing years, SOS would play a key role in stopping the construction of the Lighthouse Wind Project. And in 2024, with the wind project having folded, SOS asked Bill if his nonprofit had any ideas for further study that might tie into the work he had previously completed. Bill’s presentation to the RBA will highlight the exciting development that this funding has catalyzed.

Bill Evans is the founder and director of the nonprofit Old Bird Inc. The organization has been advancing the utility of studying avian nocturnal flight calls since 1998.