Wind farm and fauna interaction: Detecting bird and bat wing beats through cyclic motion analysis

Abstract

Recent Government announcements have implied that wind power will play a major part in providing energy for the UK (BBC 2007). However, there is much concern that wind farms can have a significant impact on flying fauna (bats and birds) using the area, particularly at night. As part of an Environmental Impact Assessment, thorough appropriate surveys are necessary for quantifying and minimising any risk wind farms may cause flying fauna. Manual surveys that are commonly used are not always cost-effective, efficient or practical. Remote systems based on motion detection are increasingly being used to monitor wildlife. Fast-moving airborne targets such as aeroplanes can falsely trigger motion-detection based remote systems. As birds and bats repetitively flap their wings, this oscillating motion can be used to distinguish them from other airborne targets. Time periods between wing oscillations are not always constant, and hence the motion is not periodic. A method to detect cyclic motion based on similarity matrices is proposed, and synthetic and real data are used. © 2008 Taylor & Francis.