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Two weeks ago I stood directly under a three blade, two-hundred foot turbine in approximately 35-40 mph winds (had to sneak in to the site, although they don’t try very hard to keep out trespassers). My main impressions was that, although you can hear a low-frequency “whoosing”, it is certainly not loud by any stretch of the imagination. The wind around me was almost louder, although of different frequencies. Although I was alone, I would think a person’s normal speaking voice (for standing in the wind on a hill) would be louder than the turbines. My other impression is that it is scary looking at the blades come down toward you at about 150 mph. I didn’t stand right under the blade's path for very long, because I suppose something could be thrown off them at that speed as well, although I saw no dead birds around the base, or anything else unusual on the ground.

Meant “whooshing”.

The maximum permissible speed of the rotor tips on this series of turbines is 183 MPH. Feathering and braking will limit the speed to that. There is a huge disk brake in the nacelle behind the rotors. There is also a very long ladder to the top of the pylon that runs up the inside.

I have also stood next to a turbine, though in more moderate winds. The only notable noise was a slight “whump” as the blade passes the tower. Not objectionable at all.

When you add up the noise from traffic, planes, trains (which can be heard for miles in the evening) and birds (****** magpies!), car stereos, parties, etc. the UK is not a quiet place. I doubt that wind turbines are making any noticeable difference.