Foraging behaviour of large gulls and the implications for offshore wind site selection

There are many environmental factors which influence the spatial location of offshore wind farms but there is a lack of data on many and this makes is difficult for marine spatial planners and developers to make an accurate risk assessment of the suitability of a site for offshore wind development. Large gull species have recently been identified as a key bird species which may be particularly susceptible to collision risk from offshore wind farms. The proposed project is to identify the foraging behaviour of large gull species to determine the potential implications for future offshore wind energy sites. This project will track the foraging behaviour of large gull species during the breeding season and, using existing environmental data sets, identify spatial links with marine habitats and opportunistic prospects to identify patterns and the drivers to this behaviour. A historical assessment will also be made using European Seabirds at Sea data. The results will then be applied to potential future areas of search to identify the potential risks to offshore wind development.