05 Dec Modelling population-level impacts of wind farm collision risk on Welsh Red Kites: populations functionally linked to two Special Protection Areas
In March 2024 a joint study between BTO Cymru and BSG Ecology looking at the potential for population level effects on red kites resulting from collision with proposed and aspirational Welsh wind farms was published.
The study involved completing Population Viability Analysis (PVA) to model the potential impacts of current and proposed (including early concept) wind farm developments on the Welsh population of Red Kites.
To inform the PVA data were sourced from the Welsh Kite Trust, raptor workers, the Welsh biological records centres, wind farm monitoring reports and a wide variety of published sources. Information on future wind farm proposals (some of which were at the concept stage) was also provided under Non Disclosure Agreements by nine of Wales’s leading wind farm developers to inform the study.
The 2024 report has since been used to inform various wind farm Ornithological Impact Assessments and Habitats Regulations Assessments (HRA) in Wales. Following discussions with Natural Resources Wales it was agreed that it would be helpful (in the context of HRA work) to complete some additional modelling focussing on the Elenydd Mallaen and Berwyn Special Protection Area red kite populations. This further modelling which takes account of a 4 km core range when breeding (in accordance with the ranging distance published by Scottish Natural Heritage, 2016[1]) has now been completed. It has been published as an addendum to the 2024 report. It is accompanied by a plain language summary providing an overview of both the original work and the addendum to it.
These documents can be found here:
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[1] https://www.nature.scot/sites/default/files/2022-12/Assessing%20connectivity%20with%20special%20protection%20areas.pdf