Proposed wind farm at Davidstow.

[Qingcol]

Cornwalls biggest windfarm will be built at Davidstow if council planners give it the go-ahead. Energy company Community Windpower revealed plans for 20-turbines windfarm project on a skyline location within Davidstow woods clearings and surrounding farmland. You can have your say at http://www.thisiscornwall.co.uk/westbriton/Plan-build-Cornwall-s-biggest-wind-farm-revealed/article-242392-detail/article.html#StartComments

[henerz1]

This is a matter for many birders to make a comment about, especially as non-residents who can see beyond any local disruption in the short and long term. Many have benefitted and enjoyed the area for birding and will still do for years to come, if we make some noise!!
Thanks for flagging it up Qingcol.
Henerz.

[MKinHK]

A great idea for a local patch - do post sightings (plus some background on the important birds and those vulnerable to turbine damage) and let the the council know you're doing so - nothing like like the Net for little accountability and publicity.

And to kick things of . . . I saw my first Buff-breasted Sandpiper at Davidstow on 6 Sept 1989.

[Qingcol]

This slightly larger than its companions, juvenile-1stWinter Herring Gull was sitting on the Airfield at Davidstow today, and while the tail coverts are not typical for smithsonianus I think it should at least be considerd as a possible.

[camelbirder]

Hi Colin, I feel that the head/ nape areas are to pale for American. I think that this bird is possibly an argentatus juvenile which would explain the size difference and the thicker bill. The wing pattern also looks right in the second picture as does the dark saddle in the first.

[Qingcol]

Hi Derek,yes it could well be, but I have never seen the Underwing-coverts so solidly dark against dull and paler flight feathers.

[Qingcol]

It appears that the juveniles of Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) both American and Vega (Siberian) have so much variation in size, structure and plumage that unless (at this time of year) we see the browner dark-headed type that predominates on the east coast of America we can't be totally sure of much at all, but we can in a forum exchange views and opinions on the plumage and structure we observe to be unusual, and in this case I thought that this included the Undertail-coverts, Underwing-coverts and the lack of a prominent gonydeal angle in the bill.

(What I'm really trying to do is flag-up the site and encourage more people to vote against the wind turbines!)

[thenorthernmonkey]

what does the gull think of the proposed wind farm or has that issue been forgotten about now??

[Qingcol]

The Windfarm is the issue and of far more importance than the labeling of one Gull. I'm fairly sure the Gull would not have an opinion but like most other birds would simply choose not to sit in the shadow or down draught of 20 wind turbines, it would not have an opinion or anything else if it managed to hit the blades on the way in.
When you think of the numbers of vagrant waders seen in past years at Davidstow you would think birders would be clamouring to make some sort of protest ( in my own short time in the county I have seen 19 different Dotterel, 3 Baird's, 4 Buff-breasts and a Stone Curlew). Perhaps unlike myself more people think that wind turbines on this scale are really green and a good idea.

[thenorthernmonkey]

i hate the bloody things. As well as the wildlife issue you also have the issue of road safety as drivers take their eyes off the road to gawp at them..

[Qingcol]

i hate the bloody things. As well as the wildlife issue you also have the issue of road safety as drivers take their eyes off the road to gawp at them..

I have to hold my hand up on that one, I'm one of those people who regularly take their eyes off the road to gawp at the wildlife.

[camelbirder]

Davidstow Airfield is, as Colin as said, an important staging post not just for rarities but also commoner waders such as Ringed Plover and Dunlin. There is also the very large Starling roost in this area, how many of these would be killed before they move somewhere less suitable for them.
All birders should be protesting about this proposal.

[Qingcol]

How can any so called green strategy be promoted (using are own borrowed money) by a government that takes no account of population size? Britain's population is now 61m and 605,000 people enter every year (and thats the ones they know about) how many more windfarms will they need in ten years time?.

[Qingcol]

There is also the very large Starling roost in this area, how many of these would be killed before they move somewhere less suitable for them.
All birders should be protesting about this proposal.

If a developing country (say in the eastern Europe) threatend a winter roost of around one million of our breeding birds there would outrage in this country.

[Darrell Clegg]

Colin,

I've put in an objection on behalf of CBWPS

Darrell

[Qingcol]

Colin,

I've put in an objection on behalf of CBWPS

Darrell

Thanks Darrell, I wish that every individual birder in the country, that has ever twitched a good bird at Davidstow would lodge an objection, that would be into the thousands!

[Qingcol]

The rising cost of the basic materials used to to build and maintain these over subsidized follys may yet save the day, all thanks to India and China.

[Qingcol]

No waders yesterday afternoon on the Airfield apart from 3 Curlew, 9 Raven were feeding on a dead Sheep carcase, a small finch flock 31 Chaffinch and 4 Linnet, Northern Wheatear 5. ( adult Yellow-legged Gull at Crowdy Res)

[Qingcol]

Yesterday afternoon, 3 Ruff, 14 Ringed Plover and 6 Dunlin on the Airfield.

[birder of the south]

I have also put in an objection as I visisted the site earlier this week and really enjoyed it as I had the best views of Ruff ive ever had. Also Ringed Plover's showed well along with some Dunlin and also a fly over Green Sand which did land in the grassy areas but couldn't be seen again. A truly lovely site and I hope this project don't go ahead and I also hate the bloody things!
Regards,
Lee

below a pic of the fantastic juv Ruff. Also a Ringed Plover + Dunlin!

[Stevie babe]

My objection has been entered

[camelbirder]

Wader numbers on the airfield this morning included 2 Curlew Sandpiper, a single Ruff, 150 Ringed Plover, 2 Lapwing and 65 Dunlin.

[mohawk71]

Hello lads, this wind farm issue is really major, I totally agree, but i used to live near Drax and ferrybridge power stations in England and to see the amount of crap come out of the chimneys and how far it floats even with all the so called filters etc, they still cause acid rain and pump out massive amounts of CO2 and other stuff . There have been some major wind farm projects here in Scotland ( and I'm sure there's more to come ) and some major catastrophies involving nuclear Doonray or Doomray as we call it , the beaches in the area are totally off limits.
I completely agree that the Davidstow area is a very important bird area, but are windmills the lesser of all the evils of producing electricity?
I'm not trying to cause a riot here but a reasonable argument.
best wishes Rik ( now in Scotland )

[Ilya Maclean]

If you're serious about making your bird sightings count in relation to "objectively" objecting against the wind farm, I'd focus on trying to get high counts of UKBAP species, Schedule 1 and designated/notified features of nearby SPAs and SSSIs rather than rarities. EIAs / Baseline assessments normally use this approach

Also % counts in relation to biogeographic or national populations would be useful as this is the criterion used to identify sites of national / international importance. For example a passage count of in excess of 300 ringed plover (the 1% national threshold) within the wind farm footprint area would quite-likely offer legislative grounds for objection.

The presence of vagrants, while of interest to birders, is of absolutely no relevance in the consent process.

[Qingcol]

Hello lads, this wind farm issue is really major, I totally agree, but i used to live near Drax and ferrybridge power stations in England and to see the amount of crap come out of the chimneys and how far it floats even with all the so called filters etc, they still cause acid rain and pump out massive amounts of CO2 and other stuff . There have been some major wind farm projects here in Scotland ( and I'm sure there's more to come ) and some major catastrophies involving nuclear Doonray or Doomray as we call it , the beaches in the area are totally off limits.
I completely agree that the Davidstow area is a very important bird area, but are windmills the lesser of all the evils of producing electricity?
I'm not trying to cause a riot here but a reasonable argument.
best wishes Rik ( now in Scotland )

Yes of course yours is a very reasonable argument but there should be some places left for birds in cornwall, i suppose that in an economy based on growth and ever increasing population there is no anwser, and all we can do is howl.

[Qingcol]

The presence of vagrants, while of interest to birders, is of absolutely no relevance in the consent process.[/QUOTE]

Yes i agree, but we need something fast and immediate perhaps if we pointed out that Davidstow is probably the only birding site in the county with excellent disabled access?

Juvenile Ringed Plover bearing a Norwegian ring at Davidstow this morning with 150 RP.

[Qingcol]

The army appears to have moved on to the Airfield, at least at one end and there were less birds this morning 50+ Ringed Plover, 40+ Dunlin, 1 Knot, 1 Ruff and a Merlin over the main runway.

[Starling1M]

If you want to object to the windfarm, then writing to the planning officer at NCDC with your concerns is an effective way to do it.
The application is on the planning website at:
http://onlineplanning.ncdc.gov.uk/eaccess/Planning/Application-summary-Information/Progress.asp?AppNo=DCFCFC7C0DFCECBCCCDC

The closing date for comment is 25th September 2008. It is application 2008/01432

You could also write to the RSPB who are statuatory consultees on the application to express your concerns.

[Qingcol]

Many thanks Starling 1M for the helpful sound advice and information, I for one will do just that.

[Qingcol]

One Buff-breasted Sandpiper among the waders last evening.

[Qingcol]

One juvenile Sanderling this morning with Dunlin and Ringed Plover.

[henerz1]

Objection logged.
I'm not against the concept of turbines but what's the point in trying to overt diversity collapse (amongst other things by slowing down global warming) if the resulting methods we choose also move us towards the same outcome!
As far as I know an EIA isn't required for this type of development (I may be totally wrong however) but any objections should be addressed in the planning process.
Thanks. Henerz.

[Starling1M]

An EIA has been produced. Section 8 covers the ecology, which includes mammals, bats and birds. I've not as yet had the chance to read it cover to cover, but I do know it is flawed with regard to the starling flocks as it says that in January 2006 there were only 2,000 starlings. In February 2007, there were a million starlings seen. They draw the conclusion that the fluctuating numbers mean that the starlings will easily move to other habitats.

[Tree Sparrow]

They draw the conclusion that the fluctuating numbers mean that the starlings will easily move to other habitats

And then they will kindly offer to make a lovely new habitat for whichever species elsewhere, which is great if you happen to be in the "lovely new habitat" but a bit of a bummer if your local patch is where the windfarm is going to be!

TS

[Starling1M]

Thing being - I saw flocks the same size in Jan 06 as in Feb 07 - so quite how they got such a low measurement I have no idea - unless they did the measurement at lunch time when all the birds were not roosting.

[camelbirder]

regard to the starling flocks as it says that in January 2006 there were only 2,000 starlings. In February 2007, there were a million starlings seen. They draw the conclusion that the fluctuating numbers mean that the starlings will easily move to other habitats.

Where do they get their figures from the CBWPS records for that period has no large counts. Thats because of observer apathy not that the birds were not there.

If anyone has any counts of these flocks please email them to me so that they can be used for the County Bird Report and to help fight this proposal.

[camelbirder]

Just checked the 2006 records and in January 2006 a million were estimated roosting in the conifers and in December 2006 500,000 roosted.

[Starling1M]

For your interest, the statement on page 186 of the environmental statement regarding the starling numbers is:

“The numbers of starling using this site fluctuate from year to year as shown by maximum counts in 2006 of approximately 2000 and in February 2007 a count of over 1,000,000 starlings. This fluctuation may have been due to displacement from another site in the area due to local disturbance. However at this stage it is not possible to say whether or not this was a single occurrence.
The fluctuation in numbers suggests that starling do change the sites that they use for roosting from year to year, and are readily able to respond to disturbance.”

[camelbirder]

Here is a list of the roost data that I have, taken from CBWPS (http://www.cbwps.org.uk)County Bird Reports;

Roost counts at Davidstow/ Crowdy.

1975 Davidstow 1m roost
1976 Davidstow 3m on 19 Nov
1977 Davidstow 1m on 1 Nov.
1978 Rough Tor 1m in second winter. Davidstow 200k on 23 Oct
1980 Lower Moor Plantations 300k on 21 Dec
1981 Crowdy 1m on 15 Nov.
1982 Lower Moor Plantation, Crowdy 3m on 20 Nov.
1984 Crowdy 1m on 15 Nov.
1985 Roughtor 500000 Jan.
1989 Crowdy “hundreds of thousands” on 22 Jan
1991 Crowdy Res 'millions impossible to count' Feb.
1993 Crowdy Res/Rough Tor 1,000,000 late Jan.
1994 Crowdy Res/Rough Tor 2,000,000 on 22 Jan.
1995 Davidstow 5000 on 16 Oct.
1998 Davidstow 100,000 in late Jan.
2000 Crowdy 300,000 on 12 Nov.
2001 Crowdy 200,000 on 17 Nov
2002 Crowdy 500,000 on 10th Jan
2003 Crowdy 1,500,000 in Nov and Dec
2004 Crowdy 1m 27th Nov, 500,000 15th Feb
2006 Crowdy 1m 7th Jan, 500,000 31st Dec, 300,000 15th Dec, 200,000 26th Jan.

The names of the sites change depending on the observer and the county recorder at the time, but I feel that all these sites are the same roost.
Hope this is of help, for people leading the fight.

[camelbirder]

After the first of the three Buff-breasted Sandpipers had turned up at Davidstow, I was asked how many has there now been. With this years three so far there has been 32. (they are listed below).

1977 Crowdy 3 - 7 Sep
1978 Davidstow 12 Sep - 2 Oct
1979 Davidstow 14 - 21 Sep
1980 Davidstow 18 - 25 Sep,Davidstow 22 - 28 Sep, Davidstow 7 Oct
1981 Davidstow 14 Sep - 4 Oct
1982 Davidstow (3) one 16 + 24 - 29 Sep, two on 30 Sep – 3 Oct, three 5 – 8 Oct
1983 Davidstow ad 15 - 16 Sep + 23 & 27 Sep, Davidstow (2) first years 17 - 30 Sep with one 1 - 2 Oct
1984 Davidstow 20 - 29 Sep and at Crowdy 30 Sep
1985 Davidstow 30 Aug - 16 Sep with second 7 - 13 Sep + 22 Sep and (3) 11 Sep
1986 Davidstow 26 Aug
1989 Davidstow first year 3 - 19 Sep
1992 Davidstow 10 - 29 Sep, Davidstow 19 - 22 Sep
1997 Davidstow on 17 Oct, then moving to Crowdy Res on 18th
1998 Davidstow 19 - 20 Sep.
2000 Crowdy/Davidstow 1 cal 16 – 30 Sep
2003 Davidstow 1cal 10 Sep
2004 Davidstow/Crowdy (2) 6 – 8 Sep
2006 Crowdy juvenile 13 – 15 Sep
2007 Davidstow juvenile 30 Sep – 4 Oct

[KnockerNorton]

Hello lads, this wind farm issue is really major, I totally agree, but i used to live near Drax and ferrybridge power stations in England and to see the amount of crap come out of the chimneys and how far it floats even with all the so called filters etc, they still cause acid rain and pump out massive amounts of CO2 and other stuff .

'Acid rain' was virtually eradicated decades ago, fella. Drax was fitted with scrubbers a long long time ago and is one of the cleanest plants in the world. What mainly comes out of the chimneys there is water vapour and CO2, the latter of which goes straight up into the atmosphere. You can;t actually "see" any of the "crap" that comes out at all, as CO2 is invisible. What you DO see, from the fat chimneys (cooling towers), is the water vapour that has driven the turbines. It's the taller, skinny chimney that actually does any polluting, and you can't see anything coming out of that.

Re Davidstow, I think launching an objection on the basis of vagrant waders is a bit of a non-starter - those birds are 'dead' to the population anyway and are in tiny numbers. You can possibly bend your energy policy to accommodate 250,000 wintering waders on an estuary, but not an occasional buff-breasted sandpiper on an airfield.

If massive Govt subsidies of public money were not dropped into the palms of industrial power companies such as 'Community Windpower' (what have they got to do with the 'community', one wonders?), then these wind power stations wouldn't be economically viable, because they're so inefficient at actually doing their job - generating power. They also industrialise landscapes. Calling them wind 'farms' is like calling Drax a coal farm.

[camelbirder]

Re Davidstow, I think launching an objection on the basis of vagrant waders is a bit of a non-starter - those birds are 'dead' to the population anyway and are in tiny numbers.

I don't think anyone has objected to this project because of vagrant birds, the main bird interest is the million or so Starlings.

The Buff-breasted Sandpiper figures were put online because of a query. Besides who says they are a vagrant, the figures for Cornwall would put them as a Rare Autumn Passage Migrant.

[camelbirder]

Great views of the Pect. Sand. yesterday showing well at the pool below the Control Tower.

[Stevie babe]

I don't think anyone has objected to this project because of vagrant birds, the main bird interest is the million or so Starlings.

The Buff-breasted Sandpiper figures were put online because of a query. Besides who says they are a vagrant, the figures for Cornwall would put them as a Rare Autumn Passage Migrant.

I'd also add that another serious reason for stopping such wind farms is that the public will be denied access to those large tracts of land - so recently made available to the public by the govenrment - and so the effects of ecological / environmental disturbance whether it be harmful or beneficial cannot be seen by independant observers.