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Red-throated Diver Energetics Project

Can red-throated divers accommodate the effects of displacement by offshore wind farms?

Contents

  1. Summary
  2. Key partners
  3. Key outcomes
  4. Reports and work products

Summary

Offshore wind farms cause displacement of red-throated divers but the consequences are not well understood. This project aimed to obtain empirical data on the proportion of time divers spend foraging, from which their ability to accommodate additional energetic costs of displacement can be inferred. The project collated field data over the 2018 to 2021 period. The main outputs are presented in the final project report (see below), which was published in April 2023.

Red-throated diver on a loch (@ Petteri Lehikinen / Avescapes)

Red-throated diver on a lake. (Photo: Petteri Lehikoinen / Avescapes)

Red-throated divers were tagged with geolocators and time-depth recorders to reveal where and for how long divers foraged during the non-breeding season. Adults breeding in Scotland, Finland and Iceland were tagged during the 2018 and 2019 breeding seasons, with tags retrieved during 2019, 2020 and 2021. Data analysis provided an indication of where each individual wintered and detailed information on dive depth, duration and frequency.

Birds are fitted with special rings and tags to track location and record time and depth of dives. (Photo: Petteri Lehikoinen / Avescapes)

Results revealed that divers, as a species, may have the capacity to adapt their foraging behaviour to reflect changing conditions, and hence potentially accommodate the additional energetic cost of displacement. However, this ability is likely to be constrained by environmental factors such as daylight hours and food availability, and hence vary between populations and locations. The availability of alternative suitable habitat is particularly crucial to accommodate and fulfil the foraging needs of any displaced birds.

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Key partners

This project, initiated, developed and delivered by JNCC, comprised a strong international partnership of government, industry, academia and ornithology experts in Denmark, the UK, Finland and Iceland. It was funded by government (BEIS Offshore Energy SEA fund, managed by Hartley Anderson Ltd), industry (Ørsted, Equinor, Vattenfall) and by The Crown Estate. Additionally, the Red-throated Diver Energetics Project included a CASE PhD studentship, funded by NERC and the University of Liverpool, with JNCC as CASE partners.

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Key outcomes

  • Improved knowledge on diver activity budgets and energetics;
  • Better understanding of the capacity of divers to accommodate offshore wind farm effects;
  • Decreased consent risk for future offshore wind farm development in areas of high diver density.

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Reports and work products

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Published:

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