Baseline studies North Sea Wind Farms : lot 5 : marine birds in and around the future site Nearshore Windfarm (NSW)

This study describes the seabird community in Dutch North Sea waters where in the near-future a marine windfarm will be built. To document the current situation ("T-zero"), ship-based seabird-at-sea counts were conducted during eight dedicated surveys, distributed over the year. In this 'before impact' situation, seabird densities at the future windfarm site were statistically similar to those in the immediate vicinity. Future ("T- impact") studies will be conducted to asses if the impacted areas will have changed after the wind turbines have been put into place.