Breeding Seabird Assemblage

The assessments carried out above conclude that there is no material impact resulting from displacement on the puffin or kittiwake components of the breeding seabird assemblage at the Farne Islands SPA. No other component was found to have any potential for a LSE2. Therefore, it can be concluded, beyond reasonable scientific doubt, that there is no potential for an AEOI to the seabird assemblage feature of the Farne Islands SPA as a result of displacement impacts from the Array in-combination with other developments.

Flamborough and Filey Coast SPA

Kittiwake

The source information regarding kittiwake disturbance mortality from other relevant projects is given in Table 5.77 Open ▸ .

Table 5.77: Kittiwake Displacement Mortalities Apportioned to the Flamborough and Filey Coast SPA from Other Relevant Projects

Project(s)	Data Source	Approach	Adult Mortalities
Project(s)	Data Source	Approach	Pre-breeding Season	Breeding Season	Post-breeding	Annual Total
UK North Sea projects	SSE Renewables (2022)	Scoping A	14.9	3.8	3.9	22.6
UK North Sea projects	SSE Renewables (2022)	Scoping B	44.7	11.3	11.6	67.6
UK North Sea projects	SSE Renewables (2022)	Developer	N/A	7.6	N/A	7.6
Green Volt Offshore Wind Farm	Green Volt Offshore Wind Farm (2023)	30% disp 1% mort	0	0.1	0	0.1
Green Volt Offshore Wind Farm	Green Volt Offshore Wind Farm (2023)	30% disp 3% mort	0.1	0.2	0	0.3
West of Orkney Wind Farm	Offshore Wind Power Limited (2023)	Already combined with collision	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Pentland Floating Offshore Wind	Xodus Group Ltd (2022)	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Berwick Bank Offshore Wind Farm alone	SSE Renewables (2022)	Scoping A (30% disp 1% mort)	3	0	1.8	4.8
Berwick Bank Offshore Wind Farm alone	SSE Renewables (2022)	Scoping B (30% disp 3% mort)	8.9	0.1	5.5	14.5
Berwick Bank Offshore Wind Farm alone	SSE Renewables (2022)	Developer (30% disp 2% mort)	N/A	0.1	N/A	0.1

From this information, the various approaches have been consolidated into a “low” and a “high” estimate for the total in-combination impact. This is presented in Table 5.78 Open ▸ .

Table 5.78: Kittiwake Displacement Mortalities Apportioned to the Flamborough and Filey Coast SPA In-Combination Totals

Project(s)	Adult Mortalities
	Pre-Breeding Season		Breeding Season		Post-Breeding Season		Annual Total
	Low	High	Low	High	Low	High	Low	High
UK North Sea projects	14.9	44.7	3.8	11.3	3.9	11.6	22.6	67.6
Green Volt Offshore Wind Farm	0.0	0.1	0.1	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.1	0.3
West of Orkney Wind Farm	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Pentland Floating Offshore Wind	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Berwick Bank Offshore Wind Farm	3.0	8.9	0.0	0.1	1.8	5.5	4.8	14.5
Ossian	0.1	0.4	0.9	2.7	0.1	0.3	1.1	3.3
Total (Including Berwick Bank Offshore Wind Farm)	15.0	45.2	4.8	14.2	4.0	11.9	23.8	71.2
Total (Excluding Berwick Bank Offshore Wind Farm)	12.0	36.3	4.8	14.1	2.2	6.4	19.0	56.7

With a population of 91,008 breeding adults (Burnell et al, 2023), 19.0 to 71.2 additional mortalities represents a 0.021 to 0.078 percentage point increase in mortality rates. Therefore, PVA has been carried out both with and without Berwick Bank Offshore Wind Farm and for the high and low scenarios, to further assess the total in-combination impact.
The PVA results are summarised in Table 5.79 Open ▸ . Full details are available in appendix 3B.

Table 5.79: Summary of PVA Results for In-Combination Displacement Impacts on Kittiwake at the Flamborough and Filey Coast SPA

Scenario	Approach	Adult Mortality	Citation Population (Breeding Adults)	Recent Population (Burnell et al., 2023) (Breeding Adults)	Median Unimpacted Population After 35 Years	Median Impacted Population After 35 Years	Median CGR	Median CPS
Including Berwick Bank Offshore Wind Farm	Low	23.8	89,040	91,008	86,128	85,096	1.000	0.989
Including Berwick Bank Offshore Wind Farm	High	71.2				83,076	0.999	0.967
Excluding Berwick Bank Offshore Wind Farm	Low	19.0				85,365	1.000	0.991
Excluding Berwick Bank Offshore Wind Farm	High	56.7				83,772	0.999	0.974

The kittiwake population of the Flamborough and Filey Coast SPA has increased slightly from its citation level of 89,040 breeding adults to recent counts of 91,008 breeding adults (Burnell et al., 2023).
The PVA results show that the kittiwake population is expected to remain relatively stable under the counterfactual (no impact) scenario. Under the impacted scenarios, the CGR is 0.999 to 1.000. This leads to a CPS after 35 years of 0.967 to 0.991 – i.e. the population size would be 0.9% to 3.3% smaller than the counterfactual population size.
Overall, therefore, the impact of displacement from the Array in combination with other projects is predicted to make no material impact on the kittiwake population compared to the counterfactual scenario, and it can be concluded, beyond reasonable scientific doubt, that there is no potential for an AEOI on the kittiwake feature of the Flamborough and Filey Coast SPA as a result of displacement from the Array in-combination with other developments.

Gannet

The source information regarding gannet disturbance mortality from other relevant projects is given in Table 5.80 Open ▸ .

Table 5.80: Gannet Displacement Mortalities Apportioned to the Flamborough and Filey Coast SPA from Other Relevant Projects

Project(s)	Data Source	Approach	Adult Mortalities
Project(s)	Data Source	Approach	Pre-breeding Season	Breeding Season	Post-breeding	Annual Total
UK North Sea projects	SSE Renewables (2022)	Scoping A	2.2	60	5.8	68.0
UK North Sea projects	SSE Renewables (2022)	Scoping B	6.5	180.1	17.3	203.9
UK North Sea projects	SSE Renewables (2022)	Developer	2.2	60	5.8	68.0
Green Volt Offshore Wind Farm	Green Volt Offshore Wind Farm (2023)	SNCB Low	0	0	0	0.0
Green Volt Offshore Wind Farm	Green Volt Offshore Wind Farm (2023)	SNCB High	0.1	0.1	0	0.2
Green Volt Offshore Wind Farm	Green Volt Offshore Wind Farm (2023)	Developer Low	0	0	0	0.0
Green Volt Offshore Wind Farm	Green Volt Offshore Wind Farm (2023)	Developer High	0	0	0	0.0
West of Orkney Wind Farm	Offshore Wind Power Limited (2023)	Already combined with collision	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Pentland Floating Offshore Wind	Xodus Group Ltd (2022)	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
SEP & DEP	Equinor (2023)	60% disp & 1% mort	0.024	2.022	0.186	2.2
SEP & DEP	Equinor (2023)	70% disp & 1% mort	0.028	2.359	0.217	2.6
SEP & DEP	Equinor (2023)	80% disp & 1% mort	0.032	2.696	0.248	3.0
Five Estuaries	Five Estuaries Wind Farm Ltd (2023)	60% disp & 1% mort	0	0.4	0.2	0.6
Five Estuaries	Five Estuaries Wind Farm Ltd (2023)	80% disp & 1% mort	0	0.5	0.2	0.7
Outer Dowsing	Outer Dowsing Offshore Wind (2023)	60% disp & 1% mort	0	2.5	0	2.5
Outer Dowsing	Outer Dowsing Offshore Wind (2023)	80% disp & 1% mort	0.1	3.4	0.1	3.6
Berwick Bank Offshore Wind Farm alone	SSE Renewables (2022)	Scoping A (70% disp 1% mort)	0.1	0.4	0.2	0.7
Berwick Bank Offshore Wind Farm alone	SSE Renewables (2022)	Scoping B (70% disp 3% mort)	0.2	1.2	0.7	2.1
Berwick Bank Offshore Wind Farm alone	SSE Renewables (2022)	Developer (70% disp 1% mort)	0.1	0.4	0.2	0.7

From this information, the various approaches have been consolidated into a “low” and a “high” estimate for the total in-combination impact. This is presented in Table 5.81 Open ▸ .

Table 5.81: Gannet Displacement Mortalities Apportioned to the Flamborough and Filey Coast SPA In-Combination Totals

Project(s)	Adult Mortalities
	Pre-Breeding Season		Breeding Season		Post-Breeding Season		Annual Total
	Low	High	Low	High	Low	High	Low	High
UK North Sea projects	2.2	6.5	60.0	180.1	5.8	17.3	68.0	203.9
Green Volt Offshore Wind Farm	0.0	0.1	0.0	0.1	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.2
West of Orkney Wind Farm	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Pentland Floating Offshore Wind	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
SEP & DEP	0.0	0.0	2.0	2.7	0.2	0.2	2.2	3.0
Five Estuaries	0.0	0.0	0.4	0.5	0.2	0.2	0.6	0.7
Outer Dowsing	0.0	0.1	2.5	3.4	0.0	0.1	2.5	3.6
Berwick Bank Offshore Wind Farm	0.1	0.2	0.4	1.2	0.2	0.7	0.7	2.1
Ossian	0.0	0.1	0.4	1.3	0.3	0.8	0.7	2.1
Total (Including Berwick Bank Offshore Wind Farm)	2.2	6.8	65.3	188.1	6.4	18.6	74.0	213.5
Total (Excluding Berwick Bank Offshore Wind Farm)	2.1	6.6	64.9	186.9	6.2	17.9	73.3	211.4

With a population of 26,784 breeding adults (Burnell et al, 2023), 73.3 to 213.5 additional mortalities represents a 0.274 to 0.797 percentage point increase in mortality rates. Therefore, PVA has been carried out both with and without Berwick Bank Offshore Wind Farm and for the high and low scenarios, to further assess the total in-combination impact.
The PVA results are summarised in Table 5.82 Open ▸ . Full details are available in appendix 3B.

Table 5.82: Summary of PVA Results for In-Combination Displacement Impacts on Gannet at the Flamborough and Filey Coast SPA

Scenario	Approach	Adult Mortality	Citation Population (Breeding Adults)	Recent Population (Burnell et al., 2023) (Breeding Adults)	Median Unimpacted Population After 35 Years	Median Impacted Population After 35 Years	Median CGR	Median CPS
Including Berwick Bank Offshore Wind Farm	Low	74.0	16,938	26,784	36,005	31,997	0.997	0.889
Including Berwick Bank Offshore Wind Farm	High	213.5				25,673	0.991	0.713
Excluding Berwick Bank Offshore Wind Farm	Low	73.3				32,018	0.997	0.890
Excluding Berwick Bank Offshore Wind Farm	High	211.4				25,716	0.991	0.715

The gannet population of the Flamborough and Filey Coast SPA has increased between its citation level of 16,938 breeding adults and recent counts of 26,784 breeding adults (Burnell et al., 2023).
Under the “low” approach, the median CGR is 0.997 (whether including or excluding Berwick Bank Offshore Wind Farm) which indicates the population growth rate declines no more than 0.3%. After 35 years (the expected lifespan of the Array), the CPS ranges from 0.889 to 0.890.
Under the “high” approach, the median CGR is 0.991 (whether including or excluding Berwick Bank Offshore Wind Farm) which indicates the population growth rate declines by 0.9% compared to the counterfactual. After 35 years (the expected lifespan of the Array), the CPS ranges from 0.713 to 0.715.
Under either approach, the level of impact is small, but considered of sufficient magnitude to be distinguishable from natural fluctuations. However, given that the gannet population of the Flamborough and Filey Coast SPA has increased from its citation level, the magnitude of impact is insufficient to create an impact that could be said to have an adverse effect on the population continuing to meet the site’s conservation objectives relating to maintaining the species’ population abundance.
Therefore, it is concluded, beyond reasonable scientific doubt, that there is no potential for an AEOI to the gannet feature of the Flamborough and Filey Coast SPA as a result of displacement from the Array in combination with other assessments.

Breeding Seabird Assemblage

Of the components of the breeding seabird assemblage, only kittiwake and gannet were found to have any potential LSE2. Guillemot was also screened in at the request of Natural England, but following the advice in NatureScot (2023d), no impact from the Array is apportioned to guillemots breeding at Flamborough and Filey Coast SPA. The assessments carried out for kittiwake and gannet (above) conclude there is no adverse effect on those features resulting from the displacement impact of the Array in-combination with other developments.
Therefore, it is also concluded, beyond reasonable scientific doubt, that there is no potential for an AEOI to the breeding seabird assemblage feature of the Flamborough and Filey Coast SPA as a result of displacement from the Array in combination with other assessments.

Forth Islands SPA

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