Abstract
This report constitutes the second year two seasonal (January to March 2024) report outlining results from digital aerial surveys conducted in March 2024 and April 2024 within the South-West Celtic Sea under the POSEIDON project and commissioned by Natural England. Surveys were undertaken using APEM’s high-resolution camera system to capture digital still imagery of birds and marine megafauna within the Survey Area.
Surveys occurred over two flights on the 21st of March 2024 and a single flight on the 14th of April 2024 using Vulcanair P68 twin-engine survey aircraft. Patches of low cloud obscured several lines on the initial survey day on 21st of March. It was agreed that a partial re-survey of the affected lines would be undertaken at the next available opportunity. Due to an extended period of poor weather, the re-survey was undertaken on the 14th of April. A technical issue occurred on the initial attempt of line 1. The affected half of the line was re-flown.
A total of 527 observations were recorded in the January-March 2024 seasonal survey, of which 332 were observations of birds and 195 observations of marine megafauna. APEM will continue to monitor the site for these species and others during the remaining seasonal surveys.