2011, APEM, Zone 2 Firth of Forth, Aerial Bird Surveys series https://portal.medin.org.uk/portal/start.php?tpc=015_e544d4b8-1461-495b-a09d-769bde679799 Digital aerial surveys of the Firth of Forth Zone were carried out in October 2011. High Resolution stills imagery was used to record birds and marine mammals present in two areas; the Phase I area, surveyed for direct comparison with data from boat surveys, and the wider Firth of Forth Zone. Typical seabird species were recorded, including divers, gannets, fulmars, kittiwakes, herring gulls, black-backed gulls, skuas and auks. Data collected were thoroughly Quality Assured, including 100% internal QA and 10% external QA. Population estimates were produced by design- or model-based estimation methods. Precision of estimates was high, especially for abundant species / groups. The west of the survey area showed generally higher bird densities than the east, and modelled density surfaces reflected this pattern. Marine mammals were comparatively scarce, but two whales and two seals were photographed. These results were compared with estimates from which occurred coincidentally with aerial surveys. 20260302T17:39:03