How does the common loon react to several active offshore wind farms in its habitat? The species group has been in the focus of the German licensing authorities for many years due to its distribution in the North Sea and its species-typical avoidance behaviour. After the first offshore wind farms went into operation in the German Bight from 2010 onwards, the distribution pattern of the common loon can now be analysed in a large-scale study. The study was commissioned by the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) together with the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) at the Research and Technology Centre, West Coast, (FTZ).
Within the framework of the study, all data available to date from research, biodiversity monitoring and environmental impact studies or construction and operation monitoring of OWPs from the years 2000 to 2017 were evaluated. For this purpose, the data from the various sources as well as the different counting platforms (ship, visual and digital from aircrafts) were harmonised and intersected.
The results will be published consecutively and presented on a website that has now been released.
Further information
Focus topic: Effects of offshore wind energy on seabirds and marine mammals
