Birds & Wind Farms - high fliers? Rowena Langston Assessing the impacts offshore.
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Transcript of Birds & Wind Farms - high fliers? Rowena Langston Assessing the impacts offshore.
![Page 1: Birds & Wind Farms - high fliers? Rowena Langston Assessing the impacts offshore.](https://reader036.fdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062515/56649cee5503460f949bc299/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
Birds & Wind Farms -high fliers?
Rowena Langston
Assessing the impacts offshore
![Page 2: Birds & Wind Farms - high fliers? Rowena Langston Assessing the impacts offshore.](https://reader036.fdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062515/56649cee5503460f949bc299/html5/thumbnails/2.jpg)
UK Offshore Wind
• Essential contribution to energy mix, renewables
• Climate change & CO2 reduction
• UK target 10% renewables 2010
• Shallow water, <30m (50m) mostly 5-10km
• Unknowns and uncertainties• Legal framework and other
conservation obligations
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Legislative framework
• EU Birds Directive – Annex 1 species, SPAs• EU Habitats Dir - key habitats or species
listed in Annex IV, SACs• W&CA 1981 & CRoW Act 2000 - Sch1 birds• UK BAP - priority habitats & species• Rare & nationally scarce species, BoCC etc• Bonn/AEWA, Bern, Ramsar Conventions etc
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• Concentrations of divers, grebes, gannets, shag, seaducks, terns, auks
• Migration & movements along coast• Large numbers of turbines in
restricted area, e.g. shallow water sandbanks
• Habitat loss/change• Exclusion (disturbance) • Collision risk• Barriers to movement
Principle concerns offshore
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Habitat loss or change• Small “land take” around individual turbines• Change to coastal processes, including
sediment transport• Potential cumulative changes within a wind
farm• Potential cumulative changes across wind
farms• Concern for species of conservation
importance that concentrate on substrates where wind farms proposed
• Common Scoter
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Habitat exclusion• Potential disturbance arising from • Maintenance vessels & personnel etc• Construction & operation • Turbines – visual impact, noise,
vibration (COWRIE)• Size, numbers & spacing of turbines• Onshore research indicates
maximum likely effect ca 600-800m around a turbine
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Collision Risk• Generally low collision rate• Poor flying conditions, dark nights with
high winds, reduced visibility in fog, rain • Large body mass in proportion to wing
surface area eg ducks, geese, swans• Species with high adult survival and low
breeding productivity - poor compensation• Age, experience, sex, breeding condition
etc• Concentrations, migrants v residents• Conservation status
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Barriers to Movement
• Birds may fly around clusters rather than between turbines
• Size of wind farm and spacing of turbines
• Weather conditions• Energetic costs• Ecological function, feeding
areas, safe roosts etc
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Common Scoter• Overwinter at sea from the Baltic to
Mauritania• Mainly in shallow coastal waters, <20m depth• Feed on molluscs by diving from the sea
surface• Associated with clean sand/ fine gravel
substrates• Flightless during post-breeding moult of
feathers• Large flocks during moult and over winter• Sensitive to disturbance• UK & international conservation priority,
most birds occur in only few areas• COWRIE research
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Summary• Issues site & species specific• Potential mitigation• Potential habituation• Potentially irremedial problems in
places, at least with present knowledge
• New industry - impacts unknown, -ve & +ve (nursery areas for fish)
• Legal frameworks & other obligations• Early consultation & co-operation• Knowledge
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Study protocol• Bird numbers and distribution, timing• Use of wind farm site and surrounding
area• Flight behaviour - direction, height &
timing – diurnal/nocturnal, tidal cycle• Frequency crossing turbines &
proximity• Collision risk• Weather conditions• Collisions• BACI
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Study methods
•Distribution & numbers - transects (aerial & ship)
•Site use, flight behaviour & collision avoidance (visual & radar + sound)
•Collisions - remote (radar, IRVC)
Background- Blyth Harbour, 2001
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Aerial & Boat surveysAerial• cover large areas in short time• shallow, inshore waters• assess numbers & distribution of
seaducksBoat• behavioural observations• assess numbers & distributions of
alcidsCOWRIE research to give guidance
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Radar • Extension of visual observations, day & night• Movements, flight height, behavioural
response• Collisions • Migration studies (military radar)• Marine surveillance radar: vertical &
horizontal• Power: species detection • Supplementary species identification• Need UK field trials
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Infra Red Video Cameras • Collision assessment at sea problematic• Remote assessment techniques• Flight behaviour & avoidance response
to turbines • Collisions & cause• Day & night• Assess effect of turbine position (wind
farm layout)• Need UK field trials
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Closing points
• Importance of wind farm location and layout• Early consultation and flexibility• Standard study methods for EIA• Before, during and post-construction
monitoring• Targeted research (eg COWRIE, DTI)• SEA, cumulative impacts assessment• Clear planning framework, including marine
SPAs• Future development compatible with
conservation