Abstract
This report summarises the findings of aerial surveys of the proposed London Array Ltd. offshore wind farm site, and associated control zones, for birds and marine mammals. Surveys were undertaken between November 2009 and May 2010 by APEM. The aim of this project was two-fold: firstly, to demonstrate the appropriateness of our aerial method for offshore surveys, and secondly to provide data describing the distribution and association of birds and marine mammals within and around the proposed wind farm site, with particular focus on the red-throated diver (also referred to here as RTD), Gavia stellata. The red-throated diver is listed under Annex I of the EU Birds Directive (79/409/EEC) as being a rare or vulnerable species, meaning that EU member states are obligated to identify and designate key areas of habitat used by the species as Special Protection Areas (SPAs). Sites supporting 1% or more of the Great Britain population of an Annex I species are automatically considered for SPA designation (Stroud et al. 2001)1.