Enda McLoughlin

MPhil Research Student

BSc (Hons.) Biological Science, University of Ulster Coleraine, 2000

Supervisors:
Dr. Simon Zisman, RPS Glasgow
Dr. Kirsty Park, University of Stirling
Dr. Chris Pendlebury, RPS Glasgow

Start Date: 1st December 2007

tel:+44 141 332 0373
fax:+44 141 332 3182
email: Enda McLoughlin

Research Project

Golden Plovers and Windfarms Joint Study

Project Overview
There is a current lack of understanding of the behaviour of breeding, passage and wintering golden plover Pluvialis apricaria at windfarm sites. A multi-stakeholder study has therefore been initiated by RPS to investigate windfarm/golden plover interactions. This is being funded by Gamesa, Scottish & Southern Energy, Airtricity, AMEC Wind, British Energy and Natural England. Scottish Natural Heritage and RSPB Scotland are also study stakeholders, providing contributions in kind in the form of technical guidance and information sharing. The project aims to address the main knowledge gaps causing uncertainty in the consent process. This will involve a combination of field investigations at constructed windfarm sites across the UK, and desk studies using pre-construction data on golden plover flight behaviour collected for windfarm EIAs and other studies. Field studies are being carried out at operating windfarms, during winter and breeding seasons, to investigate the flight behaviour of golden plover and potential displacement effects; this will involve work both during the day and night. Standard vantage point methodology is used for daytime flight recoding. Yukon night vision binoculars permit observations of individual/flock use of the windfarm and a Flir P60 thermal camera digitally records thermal imagery time sequences, which then are processed to extract the golden plover flights.

'Enda has spent this summer living in his tent and his Defender in order to discover exactly what golden plover get up to at wind farm sites. He has spent weeks without a shower and a good cooked breakfast; as a result he is both smelly and very grumpy. He still loves golden plover though.' - Dr. Chris Pendlebury, RPS Glasgow

Outside interests

Family, bird watching (including various surveys – BBS, Atlas, Black grouse) member of Central Raptor Study Group, Gardening, maintaining Padhraig my 14year old LR Defender!


Breeding female golden plover at windfarm site.jpg	Male golden plover in breeding plumage

Dawn vantage point surveys in Sutherland