Notice of Review 11-00044 Dingwall Highland

Pink-footed Goose is a popular quarry species and it is not surprising that
97% of all known causes of death are from shooting (Wernham et al 2002)
and is frequently blamed for alleged agricultural damage.
Whilst any mortality associated with this development would be
regrettable, the chances of a serious mortality incident occurring is
considered unlikely, and potential losses (if any) would be small, and
would not be significant in terms of the overall numbers present and
population size as a whole.
Potential adverse impacts on Pink-footed Goose are therefore assessed as
low.
Greylag Goose Anser anser
UK wintering population 81,900 (birds).
Issues relate to birds over-flying the site area and to collision risk during
both spring and autumn migration periods, and throughout the winter
months. The Cromarty Firth lies within the migration route of the
Icelandic race of Greylag Geese (breed in Iceland and Greenland) which
overwinter in the UK, and is not only utilised as a staging post during the
migration period, but also an important overwintering site in its own right,
and the numbers are such that a significant proportion of the population is
involved. Consequently, the Cromarty Firth has been classified as a SPA,
with Greylag Goose listed as part of the qualifying interest (i.e. supports a
population of European importance) (see Appendix 1.1). In addition,
populations utilising the Cromarty Firth are considered integral to
populations using Loch Eye (and the Dornoch Firth), NB. Loch Eye lies
between the Dornoch and Cromarty Firths and geese move between here
and the adjacent firths. Like the Cromarty Firth, Loch Eye and the
Dornoch Firth are both classified as SPA (and Greylag Goose is listed as
part of the qualifying interest for all three sites). The habits of Greylag
Geese are similar to those described for Pink-footed Geese. The spring
migration period extends from late March throughout April, and autumn
migration is from September to early November. Activity involving
overwintering birds remains high throughout the winter months, with large
numbers of geese flying out from overnight roost sites to feed in
agricultural fields at dawn and generally returning at dusk, although
movements can continue throughout the day.
Given the location and proximity of the site area to the Cromarty Firth, it
is likely that Greylag Geese will over-fly the potential turbine location.
The importance of the Cromarty Firth for Greylag Geese has been
highlighted, and significant numbers regularly feed in fields in the
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