New report published on trial high definition video survey of seabirds

COWRIE is please to announce the release of the above report prepared by HiDef Aerial Surveying Limited.

The UK's shallow coastal waters provide a key component of the habitat of several species of marine birds. For many species, the UK breeding population accounts for the majority of the European population. The shallow waters required by many species are also favoured as potential windfarm sites; there is therefore a need to understand the distribution of marine birds over potential windfarm sites, and to monitor and assess the impact of the construction and operation of windfarms on local marine bird populations.

HiDef Aerial Surveying Limited has developed a helicopter-deployed high definition digital imaging survey technique for monitoring marine bird populations at potential or actual windfarm sites. HiDef approached COWRIE with a proposal to undertake a trial of the technique to assess its performance.

This report describes the method, output and learning from a trial of a high-definition video survey technique for census of seabirds and windfarm sites. The technique utilises a gyroscopically stabilised camera mount to eliminate aircraft vibration enabling the use of high magnification lenses. This in turn enables the helicopter to fly at a significant distance from the birds, while still maintaining sufficient image quality to identify them and assess certain aspects of their behaviour. The video is coupled with a GPS logging system that associates a geographical location with each video frame, enabling subsequent statistical analysis of the spatial distribution of birds.

The report can be downloaded here.