b29f6ebb-976e-4345-aef3-dc4ca57aa8a6 eng series Forewind Ltd +44 (0)800 975 5636 Davidson House, Forbury Square Reading RG1 3EU United Kingdom info@forewind.co.uk http://www.forewind.co.uk/ pointOfContact 2013-01-14 MEDIN Discovery Profile 2.3.6 urn:ogc:def:crs:EPSG::4326 2010-2012, Gardline Environmental Ltd., Zone 3 Dogger Bank, Boat Based Bird Surveys 2013-01-10 publication 8274_Gardline/BTO modelDigital tableDigital Gardline Environmental Ltd conducted monthly boat based ornithological surveys for the Dogger Bank Offshore Wind Farm project on behalf of Forewind Ltd from 2010 to 2012.The data are made available in Microsoft Access database format. The database was developed by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) and replaced the Excel spreadsheets historically used in recording ESAS (European seabirds at sea) to prevent erroneous data entry.The survey area of the Dogger Bank Round 3 offshore wind farm zone was covered by 41 parallel transect lines. These lines were divided into 21 primary lines and 20 secondary lines. Depending on the geographical focus of the project at the time, specific parts of the zone were surveyed as priority. Dedicated seabird surveyors untook the surveys using the Camphuysen method as recommended by COWRIE. The survey vessel Jan 2010 – Sept 2010 was the Sea Profiler. This was replaced in October 2010 by the Vigilant. During the zone appraisal in 2010, primary transects across the zone were 8km apart, these were offset with secondary transects 4 km between each primary line. For 2010 all primary lines were completed first. If time allowed during the month, the secondary transects would also be undertaken. By using relatively wide spacing for the transect lines, all of the zone would be surveyed even during the winter months (shorter day light hours and more weather downtime being major constraints). At the beginning of 2011,Tranche A was identified. For the next 12 months, transects (primary and secondary) within Tranche A were prioritised over rest of zone. In July 2011 Tranche B was identified and equal priority with Tranche A. Priority for Tranche A finishes with December 2011 survey. The 2012 survey months were identified by BTO after comparision with the boat and aerial bird data. The 4 months where surveys were carried out were Jan, March/April, May and June. The data was collected to allow a collision risk assessment to be created at the end of the survey by calculating the proportion of birds flying into the zone. completed Forewind Ltd +44 (0)800 975 5636 Davidson House, Forbury Square Reading RG1 3EU United Kingdom info@forewind.co.uk http://www.forewind.co.uk/ custodian Gardline Environmental Limited +44 (0)1493 845 600 +44 (0)1493 852 106 Endeavour House, Admiralty Road Great Yarmouth Norfolk NR30 3NG United Kingdom marine-wildlife@gardline.com http://www.gardline.com/ originator British Trust for Ornithology +44 (0)1842 750050 +44 (0)1842 750030 The Nunnery Thetford Norfolk IP24 2PU info@bto.org www.bto.org processor The Crown Estate +44 020 7851 5000 1 St James's Market London SW1Y 4AH United Kingdom enquiries@thecrownestate.co.uk https://www.thecrownestate.co.uk/ distributor continual Bird taxonomy-related counts Bird behaviour SeaDataNet Parameter Discovery Vocabulary 2012-07-18 revision 75 Database MEDIN data format categories 2009-07-30 revision 1 Feasibility The Crown Estate Renewable Energy Development Phases 2012-05-15 revision 1 Consenting The Crown Estate Renewable Energy Development Phases 2012-05-15 revision 1 Zone search area The Crown Estate Renewable Energy Development Areas 2012-05-15 revision 1 Cetacean abundance Cetacean behaviour SeaDataNet Parameter Discovery Vocabulary 2019-07-26 revision 113 Marine Environmental Data and Information Network Marine Environmental Data and Information Network Restricted public access otherRestrictions otherRestrictions Restricted public access Restricted Public Access eng environment Charting Progress 2 Sea Areas 2009-06-18 creation Southern North Sea 1.29 3.40 54.62 55.8 2010-01-01 2012-06-30 http://www.marinedataexchange.co.uk/search?q=#fq=fq%3DProject%253Amde1r3z3db3011 download https://www.marinedataexchange.co.uk/details/2475/summary A link to the web service or dataset. https://www.marinedataexchange.co.uk A link to the general host site. dataset ESAS trained Seabird Surveyors undertook intensive boat-based surveys using the Camphuysen approach (Camphuysen et al, 2004) as recommended by COWRIE (Collaborative Offshore Wind Research into the Environment). The methods were based on distance sampling (Buckland et al, 2001; Stone et al, 1995), permitting accurate density estimation as recommended by COWRIE using bands A-E divided as follows: 0-50 m, 50-100 m, 100-200 m, 200-300 m and >300 m. The observers also monitored the height ofall flying birds and recorded whether or not they were in a band dictated by the height range of the proposed turbine blades;22-185 m. The mast height of the Sea Profiler is 20 m from the water so this gave the observers a good reference point from which to ascertain heights. This data will allow a collision risk assessment to be created at the end of the survey by calculating the proportion of birds flying in this ‘danger zone’. Two observers were surveying at any one time, with a third surveyor resting. Due to the vast size of the survey area it was agreed to split the survey transect lines into 21 primary lines and 20 secondary lines. In winter months there are limited daylight hours and adverse weather conditions, making it impossible to complete all 41 lines. Therefore the primary lines are to be completed first so that the whole survey area has been covered equally and when daylight and weather permit, the offset lines will be completed. The primary lines are eight kilometres apart, with the secondary lines also eight kilometres apart splitting the primary lines. When all the lines are completed the survey area will be covered by transect lines four kilometres apart. By using this method of equally spaced transect lines distance sampling techniques will then be used to calculate abundance and distribution of all the species recorded for the whole site. Following the standard methodology observers collected data with one minute intervals whilst surveying a 90 degree area to the bow of the vessel. The observers also used the ‘snapshot’ technique to count the flying birds in transect (approximately every minute depending on the speed of the vessel). This technique was used to eliminate any bias that occurs when movement is in a particular direction and the count is being carried out from a moving platform. All data was recorded on the standard JNCC forms and transcribed into the ESAS database. In addition to the V5 Navigation system the surveyors used a portable GPS for datasheet recording. Data was collected during daylight hours. When the wave height was 2.5m or less viewing was undertaken on the Monkey Island of the vessel. In any wave height above this the Camphuysen methodology suggests that monitoring should cease. Despite this however it was proposed that as the vessel is able to work in worse conditions data collection could continue and the data would be filtered for quality at a later date, providing it was safe for the surveyors to do so. This surveying was carried out from the bridge wings, providing a safer platform for the observers. A Passive Acoustic Monitoring System (PAMS) was used to acoustically monitor for vocalising marine mammals during periods of seabird surveying. The PAMS utilises an array of four hydrophones on a tow cable, which is capable of being deployed up to 250 m behind the vessel. The acoustic data is pre-filtered and available as an audio output for the operator and digitised for analysis by notebook computers. The PAMGuard 1.7 software system is used to detect and highlight cetacean vocalisations to the operator while they are monitoring the audio output.