Annex 09_Avian Report Avian and Eagle Use Surveys Glacier Sands Wind Project Mason County, Illinois Year 2 Report May 2017 – May 2019 Prepared for: Glacier Sands Wind Power, LLC 184 High Street, Suite 701 Boston, Massachusetts 02110 Prepared by: Travis Brown, Michael Gerringer, and Meredith Rodriguez Western EcoSystems Technology, Inc. 408 West Sixth Street Bloomington, Indiana 47404 July 26, 2019 Privileged and Confidential - Not For Distribution Glacier Sands Wind Project Avian Use Report STUDY PARTICIPANTS Travis Brown Project Manager Rhett Good Senior Reviewer Diem Pham Statistician/Data Analyst Michael Gerringer Report Compiler (Year 1) Meredith Rodriguez Report Compiler (Year 2) Carmen Boyd Project Tracking and Data Manager Jeff Fruhwirth GIS Specialist Andrea Palochak Technical Editor Dina Pettit Field Technician REPORT REFERENCE Brown, T. T., M. Gerringer, and M. Rodriguez. 2019. Avian and Eagle Use Surveys, Glacier Sands Wind Energy Project, Mason County, Illinois. Year 2 Report: May 2017 – May 2019. Prepared for Glacier Sands Wind Project, LLC, Boston, Massachusetts. Prepared by Western EcoSystems Technology, Inc. (WEST), Bloomington, Indiana. July 26, 2019. 38 pp. + appendices. WEST, Inc. i July 26, 2019 Glacier Sands Wind Project Avian Use Report TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................... 1 PROJECT AREA ....................................................................................................................... 1 METHODS ................................................................................................................................. 3 RESULTS .................................................................................................................................. 7 Fixed-Point Avian Use Surveys .............................................................................................. 7 Bird Diversity and Species Richness ................................................................................... 8 Year 1 ............................................................................................................................. 8 Year 2 ............................................................................................................................. 9 Bird Use, Percent of Use, and Frequency of Occurrence .................................................... 9 Year 1 ............................................................................................................................. 9 Year 2 ............................................................................................................................10 Spatial Use ........................................................................................................................10 Year 1 ............................................................................................................................10 Year 2 ............................................................................................................................13 Eagle Observations ...............................................................................................................13 Year 1 ................................................................................................................................13 Year 2 ................................................................................................................................13 Overall ...............................................................................................................................21 Sensitive Species Observations ............................................................................................21 Year 1 ................................................................................................................................21 Year 2 ................................................................................................................................21 Northern Harrier .................................................................................................................25 DISCUSSION............................................................................................................................25 Eagles ...................................................................................................................................26 Northern Harrier.....................................................................................................................26 Diurnal Raptors .....................................................................................................................27 REFERENCES .........................................................................................................................31 WEST, Inc. ii July 26, 2019 Glacier Sands Wind Project Avian Use Report LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Land cover types, coverage, and percent composition within the Glacier Sands Wind Project, Mason County, Illinois. ...................................................................................... 1 Table 2. Summary of species richness (species/plota/minuteb survey), and sample size by season and overall during the Year 1 and Year 2 fixed-point bird use surveys in the Glacier Sands Wind Project, Mason and Logan counties, Illinois, from May 19, 2017 – May 30, 2019. .............................................................................................................. 8 Table 3a. Mean use (number of birds/plota/surveyb), percent of total use (%), and frequency of occurrence (%) for each bird type and species by season during the Year 1 fixed- point bird use surveys in the Glacier Sands Wind Project, Mason and Logan counties, Illinois, from May 19, 2017 – April 30, 2018. ..................................................................11 Table 3b. Mean use (number of birds/800-meter plot/60-minute survey), percent of total use (%), and frequency of occurrence (%) for each bird type and species by season during the Year 2 fixed-point bird use surveys in the Glacier Sands Wind Project, Mason County, Illinois, from June 25, 2018 – May 30, 2019. ....................................................12 Table 4a. Bald eagle minutes and observations recorded during Year 1 avian use surveys in the Glacier Sands Wind Project area in Mason and Logan counties, Illinois, from May 19, 2017 – April 30, 2019. ..............................................................................................14 Table 4b. Unidentified eagle minutes and observations recorded during Year 1 avian use surveys in the Glacier Sands Wind Project area in Mason and Logan counties, Illinois, from May 19, 2017 – April 30, 2019. ..............................................................................14 Table 4c. Bald eagle minutes and observations recorded during Year 2 avian use surveys in the Glacier Sands Wind Project in Mason County, Illinois, from June 25, 2018 – May 30, 2019. .......................................................................................................................14 Table 5. Number of bald eagle and unidentified eagle observations with survey hours, number of eagle minutes within the risk cylindera, and number of eagle minutes outside of the risk cylindera by month during Year 1 and Year 2 avian use surveys in the Glacier Sands Wind Project in Mason and Logan counties, Illinois, from May 19, 2017 to May 30, 2019. .......................................................................................................................15 Table 6a. Summary of sensitive species observed during the Year 1 fixed-point avian use surveys at the Glacier Sands Wind Project from May 19, 2017 – April 30, 2018. ...........22 Table 6b. Summary of sensitive species observed during Year 2 fixed-point avian use surveys at the Glacier Sands Wind Project from June 25, 2018 – May 30, 2019. ..........22 WEST, Inc. iii July 26, 2019 Glacier Sands Wind Project Avian Use Report LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Location of the Glacier Sands Wind Project and land cover types and proposed turbine locations within the Glacier Sands Wind Project, Mason and Logan counties, Illinois. ............................................................................................................................ 2 Figure 2. Location of avian use survey plots for Year 1 surveys conducted in the Glacier Sands Wind Project, Mason and Logan counties, Illinois, from May 19, 2017 – April 30, 2018. ........................................................................................................................ 4 Figure 3. Location of avian use survey plots for Year 2 surveys conducted in the Glacier Sands Wind Project, Mason County, Illinois, from June 25, 2018 – May 30, 2019. ......... 5 Figure 4a. Number of bald eagle and unidentified eagle observations and number of eagle minutes within the risk cylinder (800-m; 2,625-ft radius plot, and at or below 200 m [656 ft] above ground level) during Year 1 surveys in the Glacier Sands Wind Project, Mason and Logan counties, Illinois, from May 19, 2017 – April 30, 2018. No golden eagles were observed during the Year 1 surveys. .........................................................16 Figure 4b. Number of bald eagle observations and number of eagle minutes within the risk cylinder (800-m; 2,625-ft radius plot, and at or below 200 m [656 ft] above ground level) during Year 2 surveys in the Glacier