Press Release

MAJOR NEW REPORT PUBLISHED ON INTERACTION BETWEEN OFFSHORE WINDFARMS AND BIRDS

22 February 2006

Today COWRIE (Collaborative Offshore Wind Research into the Environment) has published a major new report on the potential impact of offshore windfarms on common scoter. Common scoter is a sea duck and is listed as a priority species in the UK Government’s Biodiversity Action Plan.

The research focused on Liverpool Bay, which is an important area for the common scoter – over 30,000 spend the winter there.

There is a lack of knowledge about the interaction between offshore windfarms and seabirds. This research constructed models to see whether offshore windfarm developments in Liverpool Bay adjacent to the commons scoter’s feeding grounds would affect the birds.

The report has provided lots of new information on the potential effects of an offshore windfarm in Liverpool Bay on common scoters. A copy of the report, including a summary, can be downloaded by from the Displacement of Birds from Benthic Feeding Areas page on the COWRIE website.

Dr Carolyn Heeps, Head of Offshore and Environment at The Crown Estate and a director of COWRIE said: “I am very pleased that this study has been undertaken and that the results will be useful for both the offshore wind developers and the regulatory authorities.”

Dr Sian Whitehead, Senior Ornithologist with the Countryside Council for Wales, said: “The common scoter is a very shy sea duck, which we know relatively little about. They winter in internationally important numbers around our coast and like the shallow coastal waters which are also the preferred location for offshore wind farm developments. This study has increased our knowledge of the feeding ecology of these small sea ducks, which will help us to provide advice in relation to the location of any further windfarm sites at sea.”

COWRIE is a company and registered charity that raises awareness and understanding of the potential environmental impacts of offshore windfarms. The research was conducted by a consortium led by the University of Wales, Bangor and the project was managed by the Countryside Council for Wales and The Crown Estate.