Friday 19 June 2015

Nocton Fen Wind Farm - ornithology

Birds

Preliminary Environmental Information - Chapter 9 - Ornithology

The 'Preliminary Environmental Information' (PEI) is a large piece of work by any standard and it takes a long time to work through it. To view the separate parts of the report online click here.

I have extrapolated the following data from the survey period results:

Birds species recorded flying over the proposed turbine area at collision risk height
  • Barn owl - 1
  • Black necked grebe - not readily accessible*
  • Golden plover - 2,864
  • Grey heron - 7
  • Hen harrier - 1
  • Hobby - 9
  • Lapwing - 3,476
  • Marsh harrier - not readily accessible*
  • Merlin - 1
  • Mute swan - 36
  • Peregrine - 6
  • Pink footed geese - 339
  • Shelduck - 18
  • Whooper swan - 15
* Data possibly incorporated in Confidential Annex. Please examine Appendix 9.B -  Collision Risk Modelling to see if you can determine the actual numbers recorded flying through the proposed turbine area at collision risk height - it wasn't overtly clear to me.

Many other species have also been observed close to the turbine site:

Bewick swan; Bullfinch; Buzzard; Common sandpiper; Corn bunting; Cuckoo; Curlew; Dunlin; Dunnock; Gadwall; Goldeneye; Goosander; Great crested grebe; Green sandpiper; Grey partridge; House sparrow; Kestrel; Kingfisher; Linnet; Long eared owl; Montagu's harrier; Oystercatcher; Pintail; Pochard; Quail; Red kite; Redshank; Reed bunting; Ruff; Short eared owl; Shoveler; Skylark; Snipe; Song thrush; Sparrowhawk; Starling; Tree sparrow; Tufted duck; Teal; Wigeon; Woodcock; Yellowhammer; Yellow wagtail.

As you can see, Nocton Fen and its immediate surroundings has a rich and diverse birdlife.

How do wind farms affect birds?

It is widely accepted that wind farms generally present three main areas of potential risk to birds:
  • displacement through indirect loss of habitat if birds avoid the wind farm and its surrounding area due to turbine operation and maintenance or visitor disturbance. Displacement can include barrier effects in which birds are deterred from using their normal routes to feeding or roosting grounds;
  • death through collision or interaction with turbine blades;
  • direct habitat loss through construction of wind farm infrastructure.
http://www.snh.gov.uk/planning-and-development/renewable-energy/onshore-wind/windfarm-impacts-on-birds-guidance/

The PEI report refers to these aspects:

Para 9.5.14: 'Construction related effects could potentially be significant during the breeding season and winter'.
Para 9.5.20: 'Individual turbines or the wind farm as a whole may present a barrier to the movement of birds...'
Para 9.5.23:  'Collision of the bird with the turbine rotors is almost certain to result in the death of the bird'.
Para 9.5.25: 'Collision risk analysis has been undertaken for three species (Marsh harrier, Golden plover and Lapwing) for which their is sufficient flight data at collision risk height to indicate that they are potentially vulnerable to collision'.

Bird mortality

'Bird mortality at wind energy facilities can vary greatly depending on the location, construction, and height, with some facilities reporting zero bird fatalities, and others as high as 9.33 birds per turbine per year.'

http://www.altamontsrc.org/alt_doc/barclay_et_al_2007_bat_and_bird_mortality_variation.pdf

In the United Kingdom, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) concluded that "The available evidence suggests that appropriately positioned wind farms do not pose a significant hazard for birds."

http://www.rspb.org.uk/ourwork/policy/windfarms/index.asp

'However, there are gaps in knowledge and understanding of the impacts of wind energy, so the environmental impact of operational wind farms needs to be monitored - and policies and practices need to be adaptable, as we learn more about the impacts of wind farms on birds.'

http://www.rspb.org.uk/forprofessionals/policy/windfarms/

Assessing wind energy impacts on birds in Ireland

This slide presentation is quite informative.

http://www.cieem.net/data/files/Resource_Library/Conferences/2013_Irish_Section_HabitatsSpecies/08_Richard_Nairn_Karl_Partridge.pdf

Papers on bird and bat mortality caused by wind power

https://agwobserver.wordpress.com/2011/11/09/papers-on-bird-and-bat-mortality-caused-by-wind-power/

To conclude

I suppose it remains for the reader to consider whether deaths of birds (or bats for that matter) to turbine rotors, is any worse than losing them to other causes. It is a shame that we have to reduce this to mere percentiles of significance, but even when the statistics show 'no significance', without wind turbines the collision risk would clearly be nil!

In the eventuality of planning permission being granted for this wind farm, I hope that Vattenfall will be conditionally obliged to instigate effective monitoring of bird/bat deaths. This will require both pre-construction monitoring (to provide a baseline) and a programme of post-construction monitoring, to identify and quantify the impacts.

http://www.snh.gov.uk/docs/C205416.pdf

Updated Glossary

Please find enclosed.

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