ADDENDUM TO BIRD IMPACT ASSESSMENT REPORT FOR THE PROPOSED WAAIHOEK WIND ENERGY FACILITY NEAR UTRECHT, KWAZULU-NATAL

Transcription

1 ADDENDUM TO BIRD IMPACT ASSESSMENT REPORT FOR THE PROPOSED WAAIHOEK WIND ENERGY FACILITY NEAR UTRECHT, KWAZULU-NATAL August 2015 Chris van Rooyen Albert Froneman Avifaunal Specialist Consultants

2 1. Introduction This addendum report is compiled specifically with the objective of responding to comments made by Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife (Coverdale 2015) on the Bird Impact Assessment Study prepared by Van Rooyen et al. (2014) for the proposed Waaihoek Wind Energy Facility near Utrecht in KwaZulu-Natal. Four main points are raised, namely: The preferred option for the power line, i.e. Option 1, should be revisited, as the local populations of both Grey Crowned and Blue Cranes in the area would be at risk should this option be constructed. The report does not adequately address the issue of potential Blue Crane breeding within the proposed turbine area. The lack of published literature on White Stork collisions with wind turbines cannot be taken as an indication that the species is not vulnerable to wind turbine collisions, and cannot constitute a mitigation measure. The consultant have not fully investigated the presence of small passerine species, particularly Rudd s Lark, Yellow breasted Pipit and possibly Botha s Lark and the potential impact of the proposed development on such species. 2. Responses to the concerns raised 2.1 The preferred option for the power line, i.e. Option 1, should be revisited. The selection of Option 1 as the preferred alternative was heavily influenced by the length of the respective alternatives, especially with regard to the length of line that would traverse natural grassland. Natural grassland habitat was given the highest priority in the weighting hierarchy, based on the suite of priority species that could potentially interact with the power line, with Option 1 traversing the least amount of grassland. However, Coverdale (2015) points to the fact that from his personal knowledge of the area and based on the results of the 2012 crane aerial survey, Option 1 could pose a collision risk for Blue Crane and Grey Crowned Crane moving between wetlands in the Blood River Vlei complex. It could be argued that wetland habitat should be weighted equal or even higher than grassland, given the affinity of the two species (especially Grey Crowned Crane) for wetland habitat. If this argument is followed, Option 1 would not be the preferred alternative. In such a case we would suggest that Option 4 is utilised as it runs next to existing transmission infrastructure for most of the way, and it avoids all the major wetland areas north of the R34 (see Figure 1 below).

3 Figure 1: The location of Option 4 (blue line) for the proposed grid connection. 2.2 The report does not adequately address the issue of potential Blue Crane breeding within the proposed turbine area. The monitoring at the turbine site was conducted according to the best practice guidelines for avifaunal impact assessments (Jenkins et al. 2011), which states that Any obvious breeding pairs and/or nest sites located during this survey work should be plotted and treated as focal sites for subsequent monitoring. The plateau where the turbines are to be situated was surveyed by means of a combination of 1 drive transect running through the middle of the turbine area (which included frequent stops and scanning of the environment with binoculars) and 4 walk transects. Each transect was surveyed three times per season. In addition, a total of 378 hours of vantage point (VP) watches were conducted (12 hours per season per vantage point in autumn, winter and spring, and 18 hours per vantage point in summer) at strategically placed vantage points (see Figure 2 below for the location of the transects and VPs). All priority species that were recorded outside of formal monitoring surveys were also recorded as incidental sightings and mapped. The monitoring was done by Weltevrede Eko-toerisme Ontwikkelling (WETO Mr. Maans Booysen), who is one the most prominent bird guides in southern Africa ( who simultaneously also conducted SABAP2 surveys. Visibility on the plateau is very good due to the flat topography and short vegetation structure. The spring season monitoring was conducted from October (18 days), which is when breeding Blue Cranes would be highly visible. It is our view that the surveys conducted were sufficiently thorough to have picked up any breeding cranes within the turbine area and that the absence of breeding Blue Cranes is an accurate reflection of the situation as it stood at the time.

4 Figure 2: The transects (red lines) and VPs (red placemarks) at the turbine site 2.3 The lack of published literature on White Stork collisions with wind turbines cannot be taken as an indication that the species is not vulnerable to wind turbine collisions, and cannot constitute a mitigation measure. White Storks are one of the most common large soaring migratory species recorded crossing in tens of thousands from Europe into Africa at the Straits of Gibraltar, yet the species seem to be able to successfully avoid the wind turbines at the Tarifa wind farm (e.g. see Jans 2000 and De Lucas et al. 2004). White Storks are not mentioned in a comprehensive review by the Birdlife International of the literature on wind turbine/avian interactions spanning 10 years between 2003 and 2013 (Gove et al. 2013). We agree that this seeming ability to avoid wind turbines should not be viewed as a mitigation measure in itself; it is merely an indication that the species may not be particularly vulnerable to this impact. Close monitoring of the situation at the wind farm will still be required in order to implement selective shutting down of turbines in high risk situations if the scenario at Waaihoek turns out to be different from what is experienced in Europe. 2.4 The consultant have not fully investigated the presence of small passerine species, particularly Rudd s Lark, Yellow breasted Pipit and possibly Botha s Lark and the potential impact of the proposed development on such. The survey methods used for the pre-construction surveys have already been covered in 2.2 above. It is in our opinion highly unlikely that a highly experienced bird guide like Mr. Maans Booysen would have completely overlooked the presence of Rudd s Lark or Botha s Lark in 12 months of intensive monitoring. Monitoring was inter alia performed in October, January/February and April, during which singing males and display flights of Rudd s Lark would have been picked up. A possible reason for the absence of the species is the altitude of the site, literature indicates a preference for an altitude of 1800m above mean sea level (AMSL) or more for the species (Maphisa et al. 2009), while

5 the site altitude is between 1600 and 1700m AMSL It is also notable that Rudd s Lark and Botha s Lark have not been recorded so far by SABAP2 in any of the 46 full protocol lists that have been completed for the 9 pentads where the site is located (see Figure 3 below). Figure 3: The 9 pentad block (blue square) where the proposed wind farm is located. As far Yellow-breasted Pipit is concerned, the species has a full protocol reporting rate of 2.17% in the 9 pentad block, and it was not recorded by SABAP1 in the 2730CB Quarter Degree Grid Square, where the majority of the proposed wind farm is located. In 2730CD, which encompasses the area south of the wind farm, the reporting rate for the species for SABAP1 was 14.29%. The single incidental record from the site was made on 23 October 2014, which means the species might be present in very low numbers, or it may have been an altitudinal migrant moving through the site to areas north-west of the site where it is more commonly recorded. The habitat of choice for Yellowbreasted Pipit is described as lush montane grasslands (Hockey et.al 2005), and that the species is very sensitive to grazing pressure. Careful management of the habitat in the wind farm may enhance the habitat for the species. It is unlikely that the species will be displaced, especially if grazing pressure can be managed - research on small grassland species in North America indicates that permanent displacement is uncommon and very species specific (e.g. see Stevens et.al 2013, Hale et.al 2014). There also seem to be little evidence for a persistent decline in passerine populations at wind farm sites in the UK (despite some evidence of turbine avoidance), with some species, including Skylark, showing increased populations after wind farm construction (see Pierce-Higgins et. al 2012). Populations of Thekla Lark Galerida theklae were found to be unaffected by wind farm developments in Southern Spain (see Farfan et.al 2009). Of course we cannot assume that Yellowbreasted Pipit will show the same behavioural traits, but it is nonetheless interesting that seemingly conflicting evidence is emerging i.e. some evidence of turbine avoidance by passerines, yet no declines at population level. Discussions with an avifaunal specialist working on several operational wind farms in South Africa confirmed that preliminary indications are that passerines at operational

6 wind farm sites are not greatly affected. The relative large distances between turbines at Waaihoek (>450m) should also limit the impact on the passerine populations in the natural grassland habitat. 3. Conclusions Some of the concerns raised by Coverdale (2015) are valid and merits a re-assessment of some aspects of the pre-construction report, notably the selection of the preferred option of the grid connection. Hopefully the explanations in this short report will adequately address the remainder of the concerns, namely those pertaining to the wind farm infrastructure itself, and the perceived impact on several priority species. 4. References Coverdale, B SUBJECT: WAAIHOEK WIND FARM APPLICATION AVIFAUNAL REVIEW. Internal memorandum. Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife. David H Maphisa, Paul F Donald, Graeme M Buchanan & Peter G Ryan Habitat use, distribution and breeding ecology of the globally threatened Rudd's Lark and Botha's Lark in eastern South Africa, Ostrich: Journal of African Ornithology, 80:1, 19-28, DOI: /OSTRICH T. K. Stevens, A. M. Hale, K. B. Karsten, V. J. Bennett. An analysis of displacement from wind turbines in a wintering grassland bird community. Biodivers Conserv (2013) 22: DOI /s Amanda M. Hale, Erin S. Hatchett, Jeffrey A. Meyer, and Victoria J. Bennett No evidence of displacement due to wind turbines in breeding grassland songbirds. Volume 116, 2014, pp DOI: /CONDOR De Lucas, M.; Janss, G.; Ferrer, M. (2004). The Effects of a Wind Farm on Birds in a Migration Point: The Strait of Gibraltar. Biodiversity & Conservation, 13(2), Gove, B., Langston, RHW., McCluskie, A., Pullan, JD. & Scrase, I Wind Farms And Birds: An Updated Analysis Of The Effects Of Wind Farms On Birds, And Best Practice Guidance On Integrated Planning And Impact Assessment. T-PVS/Inf (2013) 15. Report prepared by BirdLife International on behalf of the Bern Convention. Jans, G Bird ehaviour in and near a wind farm at Tarifa, Spain: Management considerations. Proceedings of National Avian Wind Power Planning Meeting III, San Diego, California, May Jenkins A R; Van Rooyen C S; Smallie J J; Anderson M D & Smit H A Best practice guidelines for avian monitoring and impact mitigation at proposed wind energy development sites in southern Africa. Endangered Wildlife Trust and Birdlife South Africa. South African Bird Atlas Project 2. Accessed on 06 August Van Rooyen, C.S; Froneman, A & Laubscher, N Proposed Wind Energy Facility and associated infrastructure for Waaihoek Energy Facility, near Utrecht in KwaZulu-Natal. Bird Impact Assessment Report. August 2014.

7 Pearce-Higgins, J.W., Stephen, L., Douse, A., & Langston, R.H.W Greater impacts on bird populations during construction than subsequent operation: result of multi-site and multispecies analysis. Journal of Applied Ecology 2012, 49, ) Farfan M.A., Vargas J.M., Duarte J. and Real R. (2009). What is the impact of wind farms on birds? A case study in southern Spain. Biodiversity Conservation. 18: ).