Former US President Donald Trump has ignited a fresh controversy by appearing to misidentify bird species in a series of social media posts attacking wind energy. In posts made on Friday, 3 January 2026, Trump claimed wind turbines were causing significant avian fatalities, specifically targeting America's national bird.
Misidentified Raptors and Inaccurate Claims
On his Truth Social platform, Trump shared a photograph of a bird lying lifeless in front of a wind farm, captioned "Eagles going down!". However, fact-checkers quickly identified the raptor in the image not as a bald eagle, but as a red kite killed in Spain. The photo originally appeared in a 2011 article by The Telegraph.
In a separate post the same day, Trump shared an older image of a flock of birds near a turbine, declaring "Killing birds by the millions!". This picture was traced back to a 2006 upload on Flickr by the Taiwanese environmental group Changhua Coast Conservation Action.
The Complex Reality of Bird Fatalities
Verifiable recent data on bird collisions with wind turbines is limited. However, studies cited by the MIT Climate Portal from 2013 and 2014 estimate that between 140,000 and 679,000 birds are killed by wind turbines in the United States annually.
For context, a 2009 US Fish and Wildlife Service memo indicated that an estimated 500,000 to 1 million birds die each year in oil field production pits and wastewater disposal facilities. Trump did reference a Fox News Digital report stating the Department of the Interior had fined Orsted Onshore North America over $32,000 for the deaths of two bald eagles linked to its turbines in Nebraska and Illinois.
A Long-Standing Anti-Wind Campaign
This incident is part of a protracted campaign by Trump against wind energy, juxtaposed with his support for the fossil fuel industry. His opposition dates back to at least 2012, when he testified before the Scottish Parliament against turbines planned near his Aberdeenshire golf course.
During his current administration, his regulators have moved to withdraw permits for six offshore wind projects on the East Coast and halted the construction of two others, according to a Politico report. Concurrently, his administration has proposed new oil drilling off the coasts of California, Florida, and Alaska.
The former president's latest posts drew a sharp rebuke from political opponents. California Governor Gavin Newsom's press team mocked Trump on social media, writing, "Dozy Don doesn't know what America's bird looks like???" This came after Trump previously shared an image of a dead falcon, mistakenly identifying it as a bald eagle.
