New research by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) has used GPS tags to show how Lesser Black-backed Gulls breeding at a protected site in Suffolk use areas of sea where offshore wind farms already exist, and where future developments are earmarked.
Dr Chris Thaxter of the BTO said, “These results indicate just how varied individual seabirds can be in their behaviour, and highlights the value of long-term tracking datasets in estimating potential impacts of offshore wind farms on seabird populations”.
BTO tracked twenty-five birds in three consecutive summers and found that gulls visited offshore wind farm areas significantly more in some years than in others. In every year, birds spent more time in wind farms zones when their chicks were young than at other times in the breeding season. Males also spent more time in these zones than females later on in the breeding season, when chicks were growing bigger and more independent.
Offshore wind farms are a key part of the UK Government’s plan to obtain 15% of the country’s energy from renewable sources by 2020. It is therefore important to properly assess and quantify the impact that such developments could have on marine wildlife and habitats.
Dr Viola Ross-Smith of the BTO said, “The marine environment is already under pressure from human activities and offshore wind farm developments represent another rapid change. Studies like this are vital to establish the effects, positive or negative, on our wildlife”.