Deep Wind Offshore and the Norwegian technology company Spoor have mapped birdlife on Utsira since 2021 by testing specially adapted cameras for tracking bird migration and recording species, flight direction, and altitude. The technology works well, and the results are promising.
- The generated statistics give us useful insight. The camera detects 89 % of the species, and we got a 90 % identification rate (with manual verification), says Kjetil Jacobsen, project director in Deep Wind Offshore.
The AI algorithm is still developing; some species and families are more accessible to detect than others. Some interesting findings regarding direction are that the birds fly along the coast of the island and that the activity is highest with wind from the west.
Utsira is a hotspot for avian life. Migrating birds pass through Utsira on their migration routes and there is a nature reserve for seabirds close to Utsira, on Spannholmene. Development of offshore wind on Utsira North needs to consider the presence of avian life, and what consideration must be made when constructing, operating, and decommissioning.
Deep Wind Offshore is committed to establishing a wind farm that will coexist with the natural environment and will continue our research to get a better understanding of the birdlife on Utsira and in other areas where we operate.
– The Spoor installation has given some interesting data on avian life on Utsira. It is a start on mapping bird life and design requirements for an offshore wind farm at Utsira Nord. Significant activities still need to be carried out to build a complete picture, says Jacobsen.
In 2023 the project VisAviS led by NINA (Norsk Institutt for naturforvaltning) will start. The project will look at migrating birds in the context of offshore wind. Deep Wind Offshore participates in the project. As part of the project, a bird radar has been installed at Utsira, and it will be interesting to compare measurements from Spoor to the bird radar.
Deep Wind Offshore recognises the contribution from Spoor, Solvind and Utsira municipality for making this report.
Read more about our collaboration in this article (Norwegian only)
