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Pre-Construction Bird and Bat Monitoring at the Turitea Wind Farm

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Pre-Construction Bird and Bat Monitoring at the Turitea Wind Farm PRE-CONSTRUCTION BIRD AND BAT MONITORING AT THE TURITEA WIND FARM R1950s-xvi PRE-CONSTRUCTION BIRD AND BAT MONITORING AT THE TURITEA WIND FARM Spectral bat detector (ABM) deployed in a pine tree along South Range Road, Turitea. Contract Report No. 1950s-xvi June 2019 Project Team: Keely Paler - Report author, field work Astrid van Meeuwen-Dijkgraaf - Report author Rachel McClellan - Report author Kerry Borkin - Report author William Shaw - Report author Chris Bycroft - Field work Prepared for: Mercury Energy Hamilton WELLINGTON OFFICE: 22 RAIHA STREET, ELSDON, P.O. BOX 50-539, PORIRUA Ph 04-237-7341; Fax 04-237-7496 HEAD OFFICE: 99 SALA STREET, P.O. BOX 7137, TE NGAE, ROTORUA Ph 07-343-9017; Fax 07-343-9018, email [email protected], www.wildlands.co.nz CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION 1 2. SITE OVERVIEW 1 3. METHODS 2 3.1 General 2 3.2 Birds 3 3.3 Bats 4 3.4 Data analysis 7 3.4.1 Wildlands data 7 3.4.2 Groundtruth data 9 4. BIRDS 9 4.1 Overview 9 4.2 Five-minute bird counts 13 4.2.1 Kōmako/bellbird 13 4.2.2 Pīwakawaka/fantail 15 4.2.3 Riroriro/grey warbler 16 4.2.4 Tauhou/silvereye 16 4.2.5 Pōpokotea/whitehead 17 4.2.6 Tūī 18 4.2.7 Kererū 18 4.2.8 Miromiro/pied tomtit 19 4.2.9 Pūtangitangi/paradise shelduck 19 4.2.10 Kāhu/swamp harrier 20 4.3 Flight path monitoring 20 4.4 Incidental observations 24 4.5 At Risk species 24 4.6 Comparison with Groundtruth data 26 4.6.1 Kōmako/bellbird 28 4.6.2 Karearea/bush falcon 28 4.6.3 Popokatea/whitehead 29 4.6.4 Pūtangitangi/paradise shelduck 29 4.6.5 Kāhu/swamp harrier 30 4.6.6 Tūī 30 4.6.7 Miromiro/pied tomtit 31 4.6.8 Titipounamu/rifleman 31 4.6.9 Kererū 32 5. BATS 32 6. DISCUSSION OF BIRD SURVEY FINDINGS 33 6.1 Key findings for particular species 33 6.2 General bird population patterns 34 6.3 Flight paths 35 6.4 Groundtruth counts 36 6.5 Risk assessment for bird species present at the Turitea wind farm 37 © 2019 Contract Report No. 1950s- xvi 6.6 Potential mitigation for avifauna losses 40 6.6.1 Other options investigated 41 7. THREATENED OR AT RISK SPECIES 41 7.1 Overview 41 7.2 Bats 41 7.3 Kārearea/bush falcon 41 7.4 Koekoeā/long-tailed cuckoo 43 7.5 Pīhoihoi/New Zealand pipit 44 7.6 Pōpokotea/whitehead 44 7.7 Titipounamu/North Island rifleman 45 8. POST CONSTRUCTION MONITORING 45 9. CONCLUSION 46 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 47 REFERENCES 47 APPENDICES 1. Relevant consent conditions 49 2. Bird species recorded during the pre-construction monitoring 51 3. At Risk bird species recorded during pre-construction monitoring 52 4. R output from GLM models used to analyse bird data 62 5. Summary of bat monitoring records at Turitea 63 6. Selected photographs 68 Reviewed and approved for release by: _______________________ W.B. Shaw Director/Principal Ecologist Wildland Consultants Ltd © Wildland Consultants Ltd 2019 This report has been produced by Wildland Consultants Ltd for Mercury Energy. All copyright in this report is the property of Wildland Consultants Ltd and any unauthorised publication, reproduction, or adaptation of this report is a breach of that copyright. © 2019 Contract Report No. 1950s- xvi 1. INTRODUCTION Mercury NZ Ltd was granted resource consents in 2011 for a modified layout of the proposed Turitea Wind Farm, on the northern end of the Tararua Range. Sixty turbine sites are consented: 33 in the Northern Zone and 27 in the Southern Zone. At this stage, only the northern section is being constructed, however bird and bat monitoring was carried out across the entirety of the consented wind turbine site. Key concerns associated with potential effects of the wind farm on fauna include the potential for mortality or injury resulting from birds and bats colliding with the turbines and other structures (bird strike), the potential for turbine barrier effects to force birds to alter their flight lines or avoid habitat (habitat avoidance), and the potential for the displacement of birds (habitat loss). There is therefore is a need for a well-considered bird and bat monitoring programme (Board of Inquiry 2011). The resource consent includes conditions requiring monitoring for birds and bats (Appendix 1) and the methodology to address this is described in full in Wildland Consultants (2018). This report addresses the reporting requirements of this monitoring, as set out in the following conditions: 49. The results of the Pre-construction Avian and Bat Utilisation Surveys shall be provided in writing to the Manawatu-Wanganui Regional Council's Environmental Compliance Manager and the Department of Conservation within 20 working days of the completion of the surveys. [Summary report provided on 14 May 2019] 50. Final reports detailing the outcomes of the Pre-construction Avian and Bat Utilisation Surveys shall also be provided to the Manawatu-Wanganui Regional Council's Environmental Compliance Manager and the Department of Conservation within 2 months of completion of the surveys. These final reports shall identify methods to avoid, remedy, or mitigate any adverse effects of the wind farm on threatened avifauna species and/or threatened bat species. 2. SITE OVERVIEW The consented layout comprises 33 turbines at the northern end of South Range Road and 27 turbines at the southern end and on Browns Flat. At this stage, only the northern turbine cluster and the transmission lines will be constructed. This report addresses monitoring undertaken across both turbine zones, to enable it to also be applicable should the southern turbine zone also be constructed at a later date. Some of the monitoring was modified in consultation with the Department of Conservation, to reduce effort within the southern zone and increase the survey effort in the northern zone. The turbine size consented for this project was recently increased via a consent variation, to allow for changes in the turbine sizes currently on the market. Turbines in the northern cluster are likely to comprise Vestas V112 machines, which have the following maximum dimensions: © 2019 1 Contract Report No. 1950s-xvi • Turbine rotor diameter 112 metres. • Hub height 69 metres. • Maximum turbine blade tip height 125 metres. • Blade tip ground clearance 13 metres. • Wind swept area 9,852 metres squared. The main access to the site will be via a new permanent road access from Pahiatua Track, with limited truck movements along Kahuterawa Road and Greens Road to enable to construction of the internal transmission line and the Browns Flat substation. All other truck movements to transport turbine components and construction plant, labour and materials will be along South Range Road and the Water Catchment Road1. In addition, construction of the wind farm (for both the Northern and Southern Zones) will include: • Alterations to existing access tracks and private roads within the wind farm site. • Construction of a number of new tracks within the site to provide access to individual turbines and some transmission tower sites. • Vegetation clearance for the creation of these access tracks, road widening, the creation of turbine platforms and lay down areas, substations and other ancillary activities. • Disposal of excess excavation material at identified areas within the site. • Site reinstatement, revegetation and new areas of planting within the site. • Construction of up to three permanent wind monitoring masts of up to 80 metres in height within the site. • An internal transmission network to take electricity generated from each turbine to two on-site substations. • An external transmission line to connect the site with the national grid at Linton. • Minor upgrading of some of the public roads providing external access to the site. • Ongoing maintenance activities including the monitoring, repair and replacement of turbine components; substation equipment; reticulation network; transmission lines and structures and monitoring masts and roading. 3. METHODS 3.1 General 1 The width of the Water Catchment Road has been reduced from 10 metres to 7.5 metres, with regular passing bays to reduce the vegetation clearance required for road widening. © 2019 2 Contract Report No. 1950s-xvi Methods used in the pre-construction avian survey and pre-construction bat utilisation survey, were developed in consultation with the department of Conservation and are described in full in Wildland Consultants (2018). 3.2 Birds Birds were monitored across four seasons, as specified in the Consent Condition 47. This has been interpreted to mean that surveys should take place during summer, autumn, winter, and spring, with one of those survey periods being late February-early March (as per Consent Condition 47). The monitoring periods for birds were: • Season 1: 26/2/18 - 27/3/18. • Season 2: 28/5/18 - 7/6/18. • Season 3: 27/8/18 - 7/9/18. • Season 4: 12/11/18 - 22/11/18. Five-Minute Bird Counts A network of five-minute bird count stations was established to monitor bird populations pre- and post-construction in the Turitea wind farm area, and in a control site, at Gordon Kear Forest, that will not be affected by construction of the wind farm. Five-minute bird counts were carried out according to the five-minute bird count protocol described by Dawson and Bull (1975), including the modification suggested by Hartley and Greene (2012). This approach was used to address: • Condition 47.1 Document seasonal species presence and relative abundance. • Condition 47.2 Record seasonal habitat use (part). Seventy-five five-minute bird count stations were established, including 40 across the entire extent of the consented Tūīrtea wind farm and 35 in the control site at Gordon Kear (Figure 1).
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