Abstract
Natural Resource Solutions Inc. was retained to conduct three (3) years of post-construction monitoring at the operational Amherst Island Wind Project, located in Loyalist Township, Lennox and Addington County, Ontario. This wind energy facility has a generating capacity of 74.3MWand consists of 26turbines non-agricultural landscape dominated by pasture. Occasional wooded habitats, wetlands, and aquatic features are also present in the areas surrounding the project infrastructure. This report provides the detailed methods and results from the first year of post-construction monitoring for bird and bat mortality conducted at the Amherst Island Wind Project in 2019. During twice weekly searches from May 1 to October 31,2019, a total of 28 bird mortalities were documented within the search areas around the subset of 10 turbines. Observed bird mortalities consisted mostly of land bird species considered common in the province. Using correction factors for searcher efficiency, scavenger removal, and proportion of area searched, an estimated bird mortality rate of 4.77 birds/turbine/year (1.66birds/MW/year) was determined for the Amherst Island Wind Project. This is below the provincial threshold of 14birds/turbine/year. No significant bird mortality events were documented. During searches for raptor mortalities at applicable turbines, a total of three (3) raptor mortalities were documented in the search areas around the turbines. Raptor mortalities were comprised of one (1) each of Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus), Rough-legged Hawk (Buteo lagopus), and American Kestrel (Falco sparverius). The estimated raptor mortality rate for the Amherst Island Wind Projectis0.19raptors/turbine/year(0.07raptors/MW/year). This is below the provincial threshold of 0.2 raptors/turbine/year. During twice weekly searches from May 1 to October 31, 2019, a total of 35 bat mortalities were documented within the search areas around the subset of 10 turbines. Bat mortalities of both migratory and resident species were documented, including Hoary Bat (Lasiurus cinereus), Silver-haired Bat (Lasionycteris noctivagans), Eastern Red Bat (Lasiurus borealis), Big Brown Bat (Eptesicus fuscus), and Little Brown Myotis (Myotislucifugus). The first three species above are considered long-distance migratory species which over-winter outside of Ontario, and accounted for71% of the total bat mortality observations at the Amherst Island Wind Project in 2019. Using correction factors for searcher efficiency, scavenger removal, and proportion of area searched, an estimated bat mortality rate of 5.36 bats/turbine/year (1.88 bats/MW/year) was determined for the Amherst Island Wind Project. This is below the provincial threshold of 10 bats/turbine/year.