Norfolk Wind Farm

Client: Just Ecology

Date: 2007

ECL was commissioned by JUST ECOLOGY Ltd to provide bat expertise for three wind farm proposals in East Anglia.

Regular bat activity surveys were conducted throughout spring, summer and autumn 2007 on the proposed wind farm sites. The overall aim was to assess the sites for bats in terms of their roosting, foraging and commuting habits. This information was needed to ensure that the proposed sites of the wind farms would have the minimum impact on any bats present.

A transect route, encompassing the development footprint of each of the wind farms, was walked once or twice a month throughout the season to establish activity patterns after dusk. All bat echolocation calls were recorded using bat detectors connected to digital recording devices. During peak activity months all-night bat activity surveys were conducted to establish an even greater understanding of how bats were using the landscape. Surveying from May through to October provided important data on the entire bat activity spectrum from breeding, mating and commuting to the hibernation sites for the winter.

The data collected provided the clients with a comprehensive understanding of how the bats are utilising each of the three sites and enabled a thorough assessment of the potential impacts of the wind farm proposals on bats.

Expertise/Services

• Ecological baseline survey
• Vegetation and habitat surveys
• Protected species surveys
• Provision of detailed mitigation strategies
• Produced Environmental Statement
• Contributed to Environmental Impact Assessment