Effect studies Offshore Wind Farm Egmond aan Zee Progress report on fluxes and behaviour of flying birds covering 2007 & 2008 K.L. Krijgsveld R.C. Fijn C. Heunks P.W. van Horssen J. de Fouw M. Collier M.J.M. Poot D. Beuker S. Dirksen Consultants for environment & ecology 2 Effect studies Offshore Wind Farm Egmond aan Zee Progress report on fluxes and behaviour of flying birds covering 2007 & 2008 K.L. Krijgsveld R.C. Fijn C. Heunks P.W. van Horssen J. de Fouw M. Collier M.J.M. Poot D. Beuker S. Dirksen commissioned by: Noordzeewind Photo’s coverpage:observer with telescope by Ruben Fijn cormorant by Daniel Beuker horizontal and vertical radar on the metmast by Martin Poot 10 August 2010 Noordzeewind report nr OWEZ_R_231_T1_20100810 Bureau Waardenburg report nr 09-023 3 Status: Final report Report nr.: 09-023 Date of publication: 10 August 2010 Title: Effect Studies Offshore Wind Farm Egmond aan Zee Subtitle: Progress report on fluxes and behaviour of flying birds covering 2007 & 2008 Authors: Drs. K.L. Krijgsveld Drs .R.C. Fijn Drs. C. Heunks Drs. P.W. van Horssen Drs. J. de Fouw M. Collier, M.Sc. Drs. M.J.M. Poot D. Beuker Drs. S. Dirksen Number of pages incl. appendices: 103 Project nr: 06-467 Project manager: Drs. K.L. Krijgsveld Name & address client: Noordzeewind 2e Havenstraat 5B 1976 CE IJmuiden Reference client: Framework agreement for the provision of “MEP services” 30 May 2005 Signed for publication: Vice-director Bureau Waardenburg bv drs. S. 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Preface ‘NoordzeeWind’ (a joint venture of Nuon Duurzame Energie and Shell Wind Energy) has built a wind farm consisting of 36 wind turbines off the coast of the Netherlands, near Egmond aan Zee. The turbines were built in the summer of 2006 and the site is in operation since January 2007. The main goal of this wind farm is to evaluate the economical, technical, ecological and social effects of offshore wind farms in general. Therefore a Monitoring and Evaluation Program (NSW-MEP) has been developed to gather the knowledge resulting from this project. This knowledge will be made available to all parties involved in the realisation of large-scale offshore wind farms. Bureau Waardenburg and IMARES in cooperation have been commissioned to execute both the baseline and the effect study on the effects the wind farm has on flight paths, flight altitudes and flux of local and migrating marine birds as well as non-marine migrating birds. The baseline study, describing the reference situation before construction of the wind farm, has been carried out in 2003-2005 (Dirksen et al. 2005; Krijgsveld et al. 2005). The study design of the effect study is presented in the strategy of approach (Krijgsveld et al. 2006), including the general set up of the study and the techniques that are employed. In March 2008 preliminary results obtained in 2007 were reported (Krijgsveld et al. 2008). The report at hand is a status report presenting preliminary results on flying birds, collected from the start of the program in the spring of 2007 until the end of 2008. Data are based on both radar and visual observations, carried out in the wind farm area. In the final report, planned in 2010, results of the entire monitoring program will be analysed and presented in further detail. The Offshore Wind farm Egmond aan Zee has a subsidy of the Ministry of Economic Affairs under the CO2 Reduction Scheme of the Netherlands. 5 6 Table of contents Preface................................................................................................................................................5 Table of contents...............................................................................................................................7 1 Introduction................................................................................................................................9 1.1 Background ...................................................................................................................9 1.2 Study aims......................................................................................................................9 1.3 Outline of chapters......................................................................................................11 2 Materials and methods............................................................................................................13 2.1 Study area ....................................................................................................................13 2.2 Overview of observation days....................................................................................15 2.3 Visual observation methods.......................................................................................17 2.3.1 Panorama scans............................................................................................17 2.3.3 Flight paths through the wind farm...........................................................19 2.3.4 Nocturnal observations: auditory call registration......................................19 2.4 Radar observation methods .......................................................................................20 2.4.1 Horizontal and vertical radar in general......................................................20 2.4.2 Merlin system................................................................................................22 2.4.3 Data collection with vertical radar................................................................24 2.4.4 Data collection with horizontal radar...........................................................25 2.4.5 Visual monitoring and calibration of radars...............................................26 3 Process description...................................................................................................................29 3.1 Study aims....................................................................................................................29 3.2 Time frame of the study..............................................................................................29 3.3 Relevant publications...................................................................................................30 4 Results on fluxes ......................................................................................................................31 4.1 General patterns (from radar observations)...............................................................31 4.2 Species-specific patterns (from visual observations)..................................................41 4.2.1 Species encountered in the wind farm area...............................................41 4.2.2 Species-specific flight activity (panorama scans).........................................41 4.3 Nocturnally flying species............................................................................................46 4.3.1 Moonwatching observations......................................................................46 4.3.2 Nocturnal calls...............................................................................................47 5 Results on flight paths.............................................................................................................51 5.1 General patterns from horizontal radar data..............................................................51 5.2 Species-specific patterns (from visual observations)..................................................55 5.2.1 General flight directions of species present.................................................55 5.2.2 Species-specific flight paths..........................................................................56 7 6 Results on flight altitudes.........................................................................................................63 6.1 General patterns in flight altitude (from radar observations)....................................63 6.2 Species-specific patterns (from visual observations)..................................................73 7 Discussion and conclusions.....................................................................................................75 7.1 Radar performance......................................................................................................75 7.2 Fluxes............................................................................................................................76 7.3 Flight paths...................................................................................................................77 7.4