COWRIE is pleased to announce the release of the above reports prepared by HiDef Aerial Surveying Ltd. 

Cowrie commissioned the priority researches RTD-01-09 and ZONE- 01-09 to survey seabirds and mammals respectively in the Rhyl Flats and Norfolk areas.  

Windfarm developers are obliged by law to undertake pre and post-construction surveys of the seabird population at and in the vicinity of proposed windfarm 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 the limited speed of boats.  

In a previous COWRIE study, HiDef Aerial Surveying Ltd. demonstrated the feasibility of applying high definition video technology to seabird surveys through trial surveys.  This trial demonstrated the ability to use the HiDef surveying technique for surveying sensitive species such as common scoter in shallow waters.  In order to demonstrate the techniques capability further, to further show the feasibility of using the technique for such sensitive species in inshore areas and to provide further confidence in the technique as a practical tool for windfarm surveying, COWRIE commissioned further trials in the Rhyl Flatts and Norfolk areas. These trials were successfully completed over three days in March and April 2009. The two reports below record and analyse the output from this trial.  

Final report HiDef Rhyl Flats.pdf (2.26 MB) 

Final report HiDef Norfolk.pdf (4.14 MB)