Forthbank Wind Energy Development - Partnerships for Renewables

Forthbank Wind Energy Development
assessment of bat roost potential was undertaken following the guidelines published by
English Nature 21 and the Bat Surveys Good Practice Guidelines 22 .
11.2.35 The initial surveys carried out in April and early June, involving a dusk commuting watch and
walked transects, revealed only low levels of bat activity at the site.
11.2.36 Following the initial assessment, as noted in Table 11.1, SNH was consulted on and agreed to
the bat survey aims, rationale and methodology described below.
11.2.37 The survey aims were: to identify any high risk species present on site in the key periods
during maternity and during mating/dispersal/migration; assess their activity level; locate roosts
at significant risk of disturbance; and investigate the potential risk level of each species.
11.2.38 The methodology for the surveys is adapted from the most recent Natural England and
Eurobats guidelines 3,4 . Walked transect survey routes were designed based on the desktop
study results and the initial site walkover to cover the habitats within the application area.
Dawn and dusk surveys were used to monitor for commuting routes across the site and to
indicate the presence of any significant nearby roosts. Control surveys were undertaken offsite
during driven transect surveys to provide comparison of bat activity levels in some
comparable nearby habitats, and these survey locations are shown in Figure 11.2. Passive
monitoring using Anabat detectors was undertaken for periods of 2 weeks in the maternity
season (between 15 and 28 July 2010) and again in the dispersal season (between 30 August
and 15 September 2010), covering the development area.
11.2.39 The survey routes and point count stops are marked on Figure 11.2. Point surveys of five
minutes duration were undertaken along the route, at the proposed turbine locations and at
representative areas of the habitats on site.
11.2.40 Subsequent to the initial assessment visit in April, the site was visited on six separate
occasions: 28 April, 01 June (delayed May visit), 24 June, 27 July, 29 August and a final visit
on 20 September 2010. Transects were walked by experienced bat surveyors using Duet bat
detectors and Zen MP3/WAV recording devices.
11.2.41 Dusk commuting watches were undertaken at two vantage point locations (Figure 11.2) prior to
the start of walked transects. The surveys started 30mins before sunset and had duration of
1hour – 1.5hours depending on weather conditions.
11.2.42 Driven transects and points, with the engine turned off to reduce disturbance, were undertaken
on 1 June, 24 June, 29 August and 20 September 2010 during which bat passes were
recorded by a bat surveyor out of the window of a slow driving car (15m/h) as recommended in
the BCT Good Practice Guidelines 22 Error! Bookmark not defined., using a Duet bat detector
and a Zen MP3/WAV recording device. The driven transect route is shown in Figure 11.2.
11.2.43 Recordings from transects and dusk commuting watches were analysed with specialised
software (BatSound, Wavesurfer, Analook) to determine/confirm bat species present.
November 2010 Chapter 11 Page 8
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