Brabant, R.

Degraer, S.

Stienen, E.W.M.

Vanermen, N.

Vigin, L.

Open Marine Archive

 - 18 -  
Radar research on the impact of offshore wind farms on birds: 
preparing to go offshore 
Brabant Robin
1
, Laurence Vigin
1
, Eric W.M. Stienen
2
, Nicolas Vanermen
2
 and Steven Degraer
1
 
1 
Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Management Unit of the North Sea Mathematical 
Models, Marine Ecosystem Management Section, Gulledelle 100, 1200 Brussels, Belgium 
E-mail: R.Brabant@mumm.ac.be 
 
2
 Institute of Nature and Forest Research, Kliniekstraat 25, Brussels, Belgium 
 
Wind farms have three possible effects on birds. One of them is the barrier effect. Krijgsveld et al. 
(2011) described that birds change their direction of flight in the vicinity of a wind farm. It is 
unknown if this will also be the case for the offshore wind farms in the Belgian part of the North Sea 
and what the extent of this effect will be. To study the barrier effect there is a need for a technique 
that provides continuous data on a large scale. Automated radar systems offer such a tool. 
 
The objectives of this study are: (1) to develop an analytical procedure to assess the quality of the 
radar data and to process the data to effectively remove noise (i.e. data reduction); (2) to develop 
and test a methodology for radar data analysis, including the influence of co-variables, such as wind 
direction; and (3) to draft the analytical procedure for future radar research in offshore wind farms 
(i.e. lessons learnt). 
 
The radar system was tested in the port of Zeebrugge, to get acquainted with the system and the 
data processing. Foraging flights of terns are typically in a well-defined direction, as is the case for 
migrating birds. Therefore the foraging flights can be used as a proxy for the migration flights of 
migrating birds offshore. Variation in the direction of those foraging flights might be in function of 
co-variables such as wind direction. Offshore wind farms also make migrating birds change their 
direction of flight when they approach (Petersen et al., 2006; Krijgsveld et al., 2011) and is thus a 
co-variable that influences the direction of flight of migrating birds. Both parallels allow us using 
the data that were recorded near the tern colony as a proxy for the future offshore radar research. 
Lessons learnt will be directly applicable to the offshore work. 
 
The Zeebrugge case study offered a good opportunity to focus on a specific type of birds and flight 
behaviour with the radar system. A lot of experience was gained and the methodology was 
developed and fine-tuned for the future research offshore. It can be concluded that the radar 
system is an appropriate tool to monitor bird movements. It offers a possibility to show significant 
patterns in bird movements, even if that pattern is rather small. 
 
The radar system is installed on an offshore platform in a wind farm on the Thorntonbank in August 
2012. To be continued! 
 
 
References 
Krijgsveld K.L., R.C. Fijn, M. Japink, P.W. van Horssen, C. Heunks, M.P. Collier, M.J.M. Poot, D. Beuker 
and S. Dirksen. 2011. Effect studies offshore wind farm Egmond aan Zee. Final report on 
fluxes, flight altitudes and behaviour of flying birds. Bureau Waardenburg. 330pp. 
Petersen I.K., T.K. Christensen, J. Kahlert, M. Desholm and A.D. Fox. 2006. Final results of bird 
studies at the offshore wind farms at Nysted and Horns Rev, Denmark. NERI Report request. 
Commisioned by DONG energy and Vattenfall A/S. National Environmental Research Institute. 
Ministry of the Environment. Department of Wildlife Ecology and Biodiversity. 161pp. 


Radar research on the impact of offshore wind farms on birds: preparing to go offshore

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