Cowrie is pleased to announce the release of the above report prepared by HiDef. 

Cowrie commissioned the priority research project with the objective of surveying four of the Crown Estates Round 3 wind farm sites including Moray Firth (Zone 1), Hastings (Zone 6), West Isle of Wight (Zone 7) and Bristol Channel (Zone 8). The surveys were conducted in Period 5 (08/05 – 04/06), Period 6 (05/06 –09/07) and Period 7 (10/07 – 20/08) of 2009. 

The objective of these surveys was to gather suitable data sets on the number and distribution of seabirds at and around the surveyed wind farm sites in support of the Environmental Impact Assessments for Zones 1, 6, 7 and 8 during Periods 5, 6, and 7 in 2009. 

Wind farm developers are obliged by law to undertake pre - and post-construction surveys of the seabird population at and in the vicinity of proposed wind farm sites. The two standard tools for these surveys are aerial and ship-based surveys. Of these two, aerial surveys are the more affordable, and provide the most practical and cost effective means for gathering contemporaneous data on a large area due to the rate of area coverage afforded by an aerial platform and the minimal disturbance to the seabirds. 

HiDef Aerial Surveying Limited has developed a methodology for the survey of marine areas using super high definition cameras deployed from a plane. The technique has been proved through various trial surveys conducted over the last two years. 

To download the report click 

 HiDef Round 3 Summer Periods Technical Report.pdf (2.3 MB)