DUNDONNELL WIND FARM BROLGA ASSESSMENT Trustpower Australia Pty Ltd Suite 5 61 - 63 Camberwell Road, Hawthorn, VIC 3123 P.O. Box 337, Camberwell, VIC 3124 Ph. (03) 9815 2111 Fax. (03) 9815 2685 October 2014 Report No. 9184 (4.12) Dundonnell Wind Farm – Brolga Assessment Report No. 9184 (4.12) CONTENTS 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ..................................................................................................... 1 2. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................... 11 2.1. Policy and planning for wind farms ....................................................................... 11 2.2. This report .............................................................................................................. 11 2.3. Species biology....................................................................................................... 12 2.3.1. Species description ........................................................................................ 12 2.3.2. Species status ................................................................................................ 12 2.3.3. Brolga distribution and movement in Victoria.............................................. 13 2.3.4. Brolga population size over time .................................................................. 13 2.4. The Brolga Guidelines ............................................................................................ 14 2.4.1. Investigating Brolga movements .................................................................. 18 3. LEVEL ONE ASSESSMENT ............................................................................................. 19 3.1. Step One: Undertake desktop studies into known and potential habitat .......... 19 3.1.1. Methods .......................................................................................................... 19 3.1.2. Results ............................................................................................................ 21 3.2. Step Two (Part 1): Field inspections ..................................................................... 23 3.2.1. Methods .......................................................................................................... 23 3.2.2. Results ............................................................................................................ 26 3.3. Step 2 (Part 2): Local community consultation and Brolga use survey ............. 28 3.3.1. Overview ......................................................................................................... 28 3.3.2. Methods .......................................................................................................... 28 3.3.3. Results and discussion .................................................................................. 31 3.4. Triggers for a Level Two Assessment.................................................................... 45 4. LEVEL TWO ASSESSMENT ............................................................................................. 46 4.1. Overview of methods ............................................................................................. 46 4.2. Breeding season surveys....................................................................................... 50 4.2.1. Survey methods ............................................................................................. 50 4.2.2. Survey results ................................................................................................. 54 4.3. Flocking season surveys ........................................................................................ 58 4.3.1. Survey methods ............................................................................................. 58 4.3.2. Survey Results ............................................................................................... 60 4.4. Migration season surveys ...................................................................................... 67 4.4.1. Survey methods ............................................................................................. 67 Page | i Dundonnell Wind Farm – Brolga Assessment Report No. 9184 (4.12) 4.4.2. Migration season results ............................................................................... 70 4.5. Brolga utilisation survey ........................................................................................ 70 4.5.1. Methods .......................................................................................................... 70 4.5.2. Results ............................................................................................................ 71 4.6. Transmission line ................................................................................................... 76 4.6.1. Methods .......................................................................................................... 76 4.6.2. Results ............................................................................................................ 76 4.7. Summary of Results ............................................................................................... 79 4.8. Triggers for a Level Three Assessment ................................................................. 82 5. LEVEL THREE ASSESSMENT ......................................................................................... 84 5.1. Step One: Avoiding and mitigating potential impacts ......................................... 85 5.1.1. Background .................................................................................................... 85 5.1.2. Breeding sites ................................................................................................ 85 5.1.3. Flocking sites .................................................................................................. 87 5.2. Step Two: Collision risk modelling ........................................................................ 92 5.3. Step Three: PVA Model .......................................................................................... 96 5.4. Step Four: Compensation to achieve zero net impact ........................................ 97 5.4.1. Transmission line marking ............................................................................ 98 5.4.2. Protection and enhancement of breeding sites .......................................... 98 5.5. Cumulative Impacts ............................................................................................. 100 5.6. Summary and Conclusions .................................................................................. 101 6. REFERENCES ................................................................................................................ 107 TABLES Table 1: Brolga population estimates, south-west Victoria ................................................. 13 Table 2: Three level assessment of wind farm impact on Brolgas: current investigation 15 Table 3: Level 1 Assessments: triggers and steps .............................................................. 19 Table 4: Summary of 2009 wetland quality assessment and Brolga use data ................ 26 Table 5: Summary of 2011 wetland quality assessment and Brolga use data ................ 26 Table 6: No. property sub-areas with different levels of Brolga activity vs land use ......... 33 Table 7: No. property sub-areas with different levels of Brolga activity vs land type ........ 33 Table 8: Level 2 Assessments: triggers and steps .............................................................. 46 Table 9: Summary of field methods and survey periods: Level Two Assessment ............ 47 Table 10: Summary of known breeding records and likelihood of future breeding attempts at wetlands ..................................................................................................... 54 Page | ii Dundonnell Wind Farm – Brolga Assessment Report No. 9184 (4.12) Table 11: Flight heights recorded during the 2013 flocking season survey ..................... 66 Table 12: Results of the 2012 Brolga utilisation survey ..................................................... 73 Table 13: Results of the 2013 Brolga Utilisation survey .................................................... 74 Table 14: Historical/recent Brolga breeding/flocking records for transmission line RoI 76 Table 15: Historical and recent Brolga observations in wind farm RoI and nearby area . 79 Table 16: Level 3 Assessments: triggers and steps ........................................................... 84 Table 17: Flight speed of Cranes .......................................................................................... 95 Table 18: Results of Brolga CRM .......................................................................................... 96 Table 19: Results of Brolga PVA ........................................................................................... 97 Table 20: Summary of Brolga risks, responses and outcomes for the Dundonnell Wind Farm .............................................................................................................................. 102 FIGURES Figure 1: Wetland quality results for 2011 .......................................................................... 27 Figure 2: Historical Brolga count density (smoothing length 2500 m) .............................. 34 Figure 3: Reported land use on farms in the broader region ............................................