9a67de19-3326-4332-9b37-b64e3b7996d9 English series series 2026-09-08T15:34:59 MEDIN 3.1.2 biota oceans Bird counts SeaDataNet Parameter Discovery Vocabulary 2026-06-19 revision Bird behaviour SeaDataNet Parameter Discovery Vocabulary 2026-06-19 revision Cetacean behaviour SeaDataNet Parameter Discovery Vocabulary 2026-06-19 revision Seal behaviour SeaDataNet Parameter Discovery Vocabulary 2026-06-19 revision Seal abundance SeaDataNet Parameter Discovery Vocabulary 2026-06-19 revision Bird taxonomy-related abundance per unit area of surface SeaDataNet Parameter Discovery Vocabulary 2026-06-19 revision Cetacean abundance SeaDataNet Parameter Discovery Vocabulary 2026-06-19 revision Consenting The Crown Estate Renewable Energy Development Phases 2012-05-15 revision Zone search area The Crown Estate Renewable Energy Development Areas 2012-05-15 revision Species distribution GEMET - INSPIRE themes, version 1.0 2009-07-31 revision 0 SeaDataNet sea areas 2012-11-07 revision North Sea SeaVoX Vertical Co-ordinate Coverages 2020-05-21 revision unknown 2010-04-28T00:00:00 2012-03-15T23:59:59 -3.8805 -1.3912 57.17329 59.15386 CES-363 Marine Data Exchange 2010-2012, Natural Power, Zone 1 - Moray Firth, Marine Mammal and Ornithology Assessment 2026-09-08T15:34:59 publication English Natural Power Consultants (NPC) undertook bird and marine mammal baseline surveys for the three proposed wind farm sites between April 2010 and March 2012. NPC have also been acting as lead ornithological consultants, advising MORL on additional survey requirements to support the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and in light of Habitat Regulations Assessment (HRA). As part of the EIA process the Environmental Statement (ES) sections for birds have been produced by NPC. This Technical Report provides additional information on the baseline ornithological studies and the impact assessments to that provided in the ES (Chapters 4.5, 7.4, 10.4 and 14.4). There will be no limitations when published on the Marine Data Exchange otherRestrictions Data Must be used in accordance to the Marine Data Exchange's Terms of Use: https://www.marinedataexchange.co.uk/content/info/terms-of-use otherRestrictions Crown Estate Scotland +44 (0)131 260 6070 enquiries@crownestatescotland.com custodian Natural Power Consultants +44 (0) 1644 430 008 sayhello@naturalpower.com originator Crown Estate Scotland +44 (0)131 260 6070 enquiries@crownestatescotland.com distributor Rebecca Hughes EDP Renewables GIS & Data Manager 0131 556 7602 rebecca.hughes@edpr.com owner asNeeded Documents Geographic Information System https://www.marinedataexchange.co.uk/details/CES-363/summary A link to the web service or dataset. https://www.marinedataexchange.co.uk A link to the general host site. Commission Regulation (EU) No 1089/2010 of 23 November 2010 implementing Directive 2007/2/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards interoperability of spatial data sets and services 2010-12-08T00:00:00 publication Conformity with the Commission Regulation (EU) No 1089/2010 was either not relevant to this dataset or not a requirement of the Marine Data Exchange for the creation and submission of this dataset; therefore, conformity has not been assessed and cannot be declared False series NPC has undertaken boat-based bird and marine mammal surveys since April 2010. 28 surveys were carried out with the final survey taking place in March 2012. The data provided in this Technical Report and the ES are based on the data collected during these surveys. The survey methodology utilised followed the technique for ship-based seabird surveys outlined by Camphuysen et al. (2004), and the recommendations to improve this methodology outlined by MacLean et al. (2009). The characteristic of this approach was the use of a line-transect survey method within a survey area that incorporated the proposed three sites as well as a buffer, extending to a distance of approximately 4 km from the position of the outer turbines. East-west transect routes were selected as this placed them generally perpendicular to the Caithness coast. Based on experience gained from numerous surveys of existing offshore wind farm (OWF) projects, instead of the approach set out in Camphuysen et al. (2004) whereby snapshots are taken at 5-minute intervals, snapshots were instead undertaken at time intervals of 1 minute. This allowed a larger number of snapshots, and as such had a far greater prospect of accurate determination of the density of flying birds. As many of the target species were generally encountered in flight, accurate determination of the density and flight heights of flying birds was thus seen to be critical to the value of the survey programme. Rebecca Hughes EDP Renewables GIS & Data Manager 0131 556 7602 rebecca.hughes@edpr.com pointOfContact EPSG Geodetic Parameter Registry 2022-12-12 revision WGS 84 / UTM zone 30N