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Home My WebLink About2560400 - F.I. Received Doc. - Ecological Impact Assessment: Appendix 2: Bird Mitigation & Monitoring Plan Clones Single Wind Turbine Ecological Impact Assessment Appendix 2: Bird Mitigation & Monitoring Plan Doherty Environmental Consultants Ltd. August 2026 RECEIVED: 04/09/2026 Client: ART Generation Ltd. Project Title: Single Wind Turbine Carney’s Island Document Title : Bird MMP Date: Aug. 2026 Document Issue: Final Clones SWT i Clones Single Wind Turbine Bird Mitigation & Monitoring Plan Document Stage Document Version Prepared by Final 1 Pat Doherty MSc, MCIEEM RECEIVED: 04/09/2026 Client: ART Generation Ltd. Project Title: Single Wind Turbine Carney’s Island Document Title : Bird MMP Date: Aug. 2026 Document Issue: Final Clones SWT ii Contents 1.0 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................... 1 2.0 BIRD MMP AIMS ...................................................................................................... 2 2.1 PURPOSE OF THE BIRD MMP ................................................................................................ 2 3.0 OVERVIEW OF BIRD ECOLOGY AT CLONES SINGLE WIND TURBINE . 3 4.0 OVERVIEW OF POTENTIAL IMPACTS ............................................................. 3 5.0 MONITORING PROGRAMME .............................................................................. 4 5.1 5.1 PRE-CONSTRUCTION / PRE-COMMISSIONING UPDATE ...................................................... 4 5.2 .CONSTRUCTION-PHASE MONITORING ................................................................................... 4 5.3 OPERATIONAL MONITORING – YEARS 1 TO 3 ........................................................................ 5 6.0 WHOOPER SWAN RISK PROTOCOL .................................................................. 6 6.1 SHUTDOWN-ON-DEMAND PROCEDURE .................................................................................. 7 7.0 COLLISION FATALITY MONITORING AND RESPONSE .............................. 8 8.0 ADDITIONAL MITIGATION MEASURES ........................................................... 8 9.0 MONITORING TRIGGERS AND ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT ...................... 9 10.0 REPORTING .............................................................................................................. 9 11.0 ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES ....................................................................... 10 12.0 REVIEW AND DURATION ................................................................................... 10 13.0 REFERENCES AND GUIDANCE ......................................................................... 11 APPENDIX A – MINIMUM FIELD RECORDING SCHEDULE ................................... 11 RECEIVED: 04/09/2026 Client: ART Generation Ltd. Project Title: Single Wind Turbine Carney’s Island Document Title : Bird MMP Date: Aug. 2026 Document Issue: Final Clones SWT 1 1.0 INTRODUCTION This Bird Monitoring and Mitigation Plan (MMP) has been prepared for a proposed single wind turbine in County Monaghan at 652228, 826431, with a maximum rotor tip height of 143.8 m. The Plan establishes a proportionate but precautionary programme to identify, monitor and manage potential effects on birds during construction and operation, with particular emphasis on Whooper Swan and movements associated with Bishops Lough. NPWS has advised that the Monaghan County Development Plan 2025–2031 identifies Bishops Lough (MFS-12) as a site of biodiversity importance at county scale and that the lough may provide suitable habitat for intermittent usage by Whooper Swan during the lifetime of any planning consent. This Bird MMP treats potential future use by Whooper Swan, and other over-wintering waterbirds such as Greenland White-fronted Geese, as a material ecological consideration rather than relying solely on bird use recorded at one point in time. Bishops Lough lies approximately 0.4 km east-south-east of the proposed turbine location (straight-line calculation). The Bird MMP has been prepared with due regard to the requirements of the Wildlife Act 1976 (as amended) and current best-practice guidance, including the NautreScot (formerly Scottish Natural Heritage) Guidance on Methods for Monitoring Bird Populations at Onshore Wind Farms (2009). The Bird MMP should be read in conjunction with the EcIA, which presents the baseline ecological surveys, impact assessment and mitigation strategy for the Proposed Development. This Bird MMP establishes the post-construction monitoring requirements necessary to verify the effectiveness of the proposed mitigation, facilitate adaptive management where required, and demonstrate compliance with relevant statutory obligations. Implementation of this Bird MMP will be the responsibility of the Applicant and its appointed contractors, with ecological oversight provided by a suitably qualified and experienced ornithologist. RECEIVED: 04/09/2026 Client: ART Generation Ltd. Project Title: Single Wind Turbine Carney’s Island Document Title : Bird MMP Date: Aug. 2026 Document Issue: Final Clones SWT 2 2.0 BIRD MMP AIMS 2.1 PURPOSE OF THE BIRD MMP This Bird MMP has been prepared to support the operational phase of the Proposed Development. The purpose of the Bird MMP is to establish a robust framework for operational phase monitoring of bird activity and bird mortality, and to define an adaptive mitigation strategy to ensure that the wind farm operates in accordance with relevant wildlife legislation, planning conditions, and current best-practice guidance. The Bird MMP aims to protect Whooper Swan and other sensitive waterbirds, such as Greenland White-fronted Geese, from avoidable collision, disturbance and displacement effects and establish whether Bishops Lough and surrounding terrestrial grassland habitat is used by Whooper Swan during the operation phase of the Wind Turbine and, if so, quantify numbers, seasonality, roosting/feeding function and flight connectivity with surrounding wetlands and fields. The operation phase monitoring will characterise flight activity through or near the turbine collision -risk zone, including movements at dawn, dusk and in poor visibility where practicable. The monitoring results will provide clear, pre-agreed triggers for operational mitigation, including temporary turbine shutdown where risk becomes elevated. The monitoring requirements set out in this Plan will also provide an auditable monitoring dataset and annual reporting mechanism for the Planning Authority and NPWS. The mitigation set out in this Plan is based on adaptive management so that mitigation can be strengthened if monitoring identifies a risk not predicted at planning stage. This Bird MMP has been prepared in order to satisfy requirements for operational phase protection and monitoring of bird species at the Proposed Development site. This Bird MMP establishes the minimum required mitigation and monitoring and shall be updated following any grant of permission for the Proposed Development to take on board the requirements as may be identified by any associated planning conditions or informative. RECEIVED: 04/09/2026 Client: ART Generation Ltd. Project Title: Single Wind Turbine Carney’s Island Document Title : Bird MMP Date: Aug. 2026 Document Issue: Final Clones SWT 3 3.0 OVERVIEW OF BIRD ECOLOGY AT CLONES SINGLE WIND TURBINE The Proposed Development site is located within a rural landscape in Co. Monaghan and is dominated by a grassland habitat with blocks of conifer plantation also occurring. Bishops Lough is located approximately 0.4km to the south/southeast. Baseline ecological surveys have identified the following bird species at in the vicinity of the proposed turbine location: Buzzard, Chaffinch, Robin, Wren, Gold crest, Linnet, Chiffchaff, Pied Wagtail, Great crested Grebe, Great Tit, Greylag Goose, Grey Heron, Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Mute Swan, Wood Pigeon, Hooded Crow, Jackdaw, and Mallard. 4.0 OVERVIEW OF POTENTIAL IMPACTS Table 4.1 below provides an overview of potential impacts to bird species during the operation phase of the proposed turbine. Table 4.1: Overview of Potential Impacts to Birds during the Operation phase of the Proposed Turbine Effect Pathway Primary receptors Management response Collision Birds flying through rotor-swept airspace Whooper Swan; other large waterbirds/raptors VP monitoring, flight mapping, carcass searches, shutdown protocol Barrier effect Avoidance of turbine alters commuting route Whooper Swan/waterbirds Flight-path comparison and adaptive response Disturbance/displacement Construction or maintenance near feeding/resting birds Whooper Swan and wintering waterbirds Seasonal controls, buffers, ECoW oversight Habitat effects Works affect fields, drains, hedges or wet features Breeding/wintering birds Minimise footprint; pre-works checks; reinstatement RECEIVED: 04/09/2026 Client: ART Generation Ltd. Project Title: Single Wind Turbine Carney’s Island Document Title : Bird MMP Date: Aug. 2026 Document Issue: Final Clones SWT 4 5.0 MONITORING PROGRAMME 5.1 PRE-CONSTRUCTION / PRE-COMMISSIONING UPDATE Non-breeding season surveys and passage season surveys, overlapping with the time of the year that Whooper Swans and other migratory wetland bird species, such as Greenland White- fronted Geese, are present in Ireland have been completed during the 2023/2024 non-breeding season and during April 2026. In addition to the above surveys, pre-construction surveys during the non-breeding season prior to the commencement of construction activity and during the non-breeding season that overlaps with the construction phase of the proposed turbine will be a requirement of this Plan. The pre- construction and construction phase surveys will require monthly vantage point monitoring and census monitoring of Bishops Lough as per the baseline survey method used to inform the EcIA. As such this will include: • Targeted Bishops Lough counts and checks of suitable surrounding feeding fields during the Whooper Swan season (October–April). • During the construction phase fortnightly feeding-distribution surveys through the winter season; increase to weekly during periods of arrival/departure (i.e. mid-October to mid-November and mid-March to mid-April) or where regular use is detected. • All Whooper Swan, Greenland White-fronted Geese and any other target species observations will be mapped using GIS and any repeated flight corridor intersecting or approaching the turbine will be identified from analysis of all mapped flight lines. 5.2 CONSTRUCTION-PHASE MONITORING An Ecological Clerk of Works (ECoW) or suitably experienced ornithologist shall brief site staff on sensitive bird receptors and reporting procedures. If vegetation clearance is required during the bird breeding season, a pre-clearance nesting-bird check shall be undertaken by a competent ecologist. Active nests shall be protected by an appropriate species- and site-specific exclusion zone until breeding is complete. During October–April, the ECoW shall check for Whooper Swan use of Bishops Lough and nearby fields before unusually noisy or visually intrusive works. Works shall be modified or temporarily paused if they are causing evident repeated disturbance to swans. RECEIVED: 04/09/2026 Client: ART Generation Ltd. Project Title: Single Wind Turbine Carney’s Island Document Title : Bird MMP Date: Aug. 2026 Document Issue: Final Clones SWT 5 During the breeding season, March to August, the ECoW shall check for the presence of nest sites of sensitive target species breeding within 500m of any noisy or visually intrusive works. Works shall be modified or temporarily paused if they are causing evident repeated disturbance to Whooper Swans, Greenland White-fronted Geese or any other sensitive target species, during the non-breeding season or sensitive target species during the breeding season. 5.3 OPERATIONAL MONITORING – YEARS 1 TO 3 A three-year operational programme will be implemented for the first three years of the operation phase of the proposed turbine. The programme shall be reviewed annually and extended where trigger criteria are met. Element Minimum effort Purpose Bishops Lough / feeding distribution Fortnightly October–April; weekly if regular Whooper Swan use is established Establish abundance, seasonality and local habitat use VP flight monitoring At least 36 hours per winter season, distributed across October–April and dawn/day/dusk periods; additional watches during periods of swan presence. At least 36 hours per breeding season, distributed across April to September Quantify turbine-proximate flight activity and flight height Targeted event watches As required when ≥5 Whooper Swans are present locally or repeated movements are reported Resolve short-term elevated risk Fatality monitoring Systematic searches beneath/around turbine at least monthly October–April and bimonthly May–September in Detect collision mortality; searches to account for searcher efficiency and carcass RECEIVED: 04/09/2026 Client: ART Generation Ltd. Project Title: Single Wind Turbine Carney’s Island Document Title : Bird MMP Date: Aug. 2026 Document Issue: Final Clones SWT 6 Years 1–3; increase after high- risk events persistence where quantitative inference is required Incidental reporting Continuous by operator/landowner Rapid response to injured/dead birds or unusual aggregations The stated VP effort is a targeted operational monitoring minimum for this single-turbine Bird MMP. The ornithologist may increase effort where observed use, weather, topography or data gaps warrant it. 6.0 WHOOPER SWAN/GREENLAND WHITE-FRONTED GEESE RISK PROTOCOL The following adaptive protocol shall apply during the non-breeding season when Whooper Swan and Greenland White-fronted Geese are present in Ireland. Its purpose is to prevent foreseeable collision risk while retaining proportionality for a single turbine. Level Field condition Required action Green No Whooper Swans or Greenland White- fronted Geese using Bishops Lough/local feeding areas; no turbine-proximate flights Normal operation; routine monitoring Amber Whooper Swans or Greenland White- fronted Geese present at Bishops Lough or nearby fields, but no repeated flight path through the rotor area Increase observation effort; notify site operator; review weather/flight direction; prepare for shutdown if risk escalates Red Repeated Whooper Swan or Greenland White-fronted Geese flights through/within the immediate turbine Precautionary shutdown- on-demand. Turbine to remain stopped until birds have passed/settled and the RECEIVED: 04/09/2026 Client: ART Generation Ltd. Project Title: Single Wind Turbine Carney’s Island Document Title : Bird MMP Date: Aug. 2026 Document Issue: Final Clones SWT 7 rotor-risk corridor; Whooper Swan/Greenland White-fronted Geese observed approaching turbine at rotor height; or conditions create an imminent collision risk ornithologist/operator is satisfied that immediate risk has reduced Incident Confirmed or probable Whooper Swan or Greenland White- fronted Geese collision/injury associated with turbine Stop turbine as soon as safely practicable; secure/record evidence; notify Planning Authority and NPWS promptly; ecological review before restart; strengthen mitigation and monitoring 6.1 SHUTDOWN-ON-DEMAND PROCEDURE The operator shall maintain a named contact and a practicable remote or local means of stopping the turbine during identified high-risk periods. Authorised ornithological personnel shall be empowered to request shutdown under the Red trigger without waiting for further managerial approval, subject to electrical/site safety procedures. A shutdown log shall record date, time, trigger, bird numbers, flight behaviour, weather, stop/start times and observer. Where repeated Red triggers demonstrate a predictable temporal pattern, the response shall move from reactive shutdown to programmed seasonal/time-of-day curtailment for the relevant risk window. RECEIVED: 04/09/2026 Client: ART Generation Ltd. Project Title: Single Wind Turbine Carney’s Island Document Title : Bird MMP Date: Aug. 2026 Document Issue: Final Clones SWT 8 7.0 COLLISION FATALITY MONITORING AND RESPONSE Searches shall cover the maximum practicable area beneath and around the turbine, with transects designed around vegetation and access constraints. All bird remains shall be photographed in situ, georeferenced and handled in accordance with wildlife legisl ation and biosecurity requirements. Species identification should be confirmed by a competent ornithologist were uncertain. Any Whooper Swan or Greenland White-fronted Geese fatality or injury reasonably attributable to the turbine is an immediate Incident trigger. Any mortality of another species of high conservation concern shall prompt an ecological review of flight activity and the adequacy of existing mitigation. Where quantitative fatality estimates are required, searcher-efficiency and carcass-persistence trials shall be designed ethically and undertaken using suitable non-sensitive surrogate material/carcasses as legally appropriate. 8.0 ADDITIONAL MITIGATION MEASURES No lighting shall be installed on the turbine beyond that required by aviation/safety legislation. Any necessary lighting shall be the minimum intensity and duration required and designed to minimise attraction/disorientation of birds. Avoid creating new open-water features, feeding opportunities or other attractants close to the turbine that could concentrate waterbirds within the rotor-risk area. Maintain existing hedgerows, wet features and field boundaries where practicable; construction compounds and temporary works shall avoid unnecessary encroachment on wetland habitat. Do not intentionally disturb Whooper Swans or Greenland White-fronted Geese to move them away from Bishops Lough or feeding fields. Risk shall be managed through turbine operation and works controls rather than displacement of the birds. RECEIVED: 04/09/2026 Client: ART Generation Ltd. Project Title: Single Wind Turbine Carney’s Island Document Title : Bird MMP Date: Aug. 2026 Document Issue: Final Clones SWT 9 If regular connectivity is demonstrated between Bishops Lough and another wetland/feeding area across the turbine location, the flight corridor shall be treated as a sensitive feature and mitigation revised accordingly. 9.0 MONITORING TRIGGERS AND ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT Trigger Review / escalation Regular Whooper Swan and/or Greenland White-fronted Geese use of Bishops Lough (e.g. use on ≥3 survey visits in a winter) Increase targeted watches; map feeding/roost connectivity; retain weekly monitoring while birds remain present Repeated flights within rotor-risk corridor Implement Red protocol and assess programmed curtailment Any Whooper Swan/Greenland White-fronted Geese collision casualty Immediate Incident response; formal review with Planning Authority/NPWS; extend monitoring by at least two further winter seasons after mitigation change Material increase in local Whooper Swan and/or Greenland White- fronted Geese use between years Reassess survey effort and operational controls No Whooper Swan or Greenland White-fronted Geese use/flight risk detected after 3 operational winters Submit review report; monitoring may be reduced only with agreement of the Planning Authority following consultation with NPWS 10.0 REPORTING An annual Bird MMP report shall be submitted to the Planning Authority, with a copy made available to NPWS if requested, within three months of completion of each winter monitoring season. Reports shall include survey dates and effort, weather, observer details, maps of Whooper Swan and Greenland White-fronted Geese distribution and flight lines, flight-height data, turbine operational status during relevant observations, shutdown events, fatality -search results, incidents, interpretation, and recommendations for the following year. RECEIVED: 04/09/2026 Client: ART Generation Ltd. Project Title: Single Wind Turbine Carney’s Island Document Title : Bird MMP Date: Aug. 2026 Document Issue: Final Clones SWT 10 Records of Whooper Swan and/or Greenland White-fronted Geese observations should also be supplied to the appropriate national recording scheme, including the Irish Whooper Swan Study Group and the Greenland White-fronted Goose Study Group where appropriate. 11.0 ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES Role Responsibility Developer / turbine operator Fund and implement Bird MMP; maintain shutdown capability; retain records; ensure contractor compliance Project ornithologist Design/undertake monitoring; validate records; assess triggers; recommend mitigation; prepare annual reports ECoW Construction compliance, toolbox talks, nesting-bird checks and incident escalation Site personnel / landowner Report Whooper Swan/Greenland White-fronted Geese, carcasses, injured birds or unusual bird activity promptly Planning Authority / NPWS Regulatory oversight and consultation on material adaptive changes, as appropriate 12.0 REVIEW AND DURATION The Bird MMP shall commence before construction/commissioning and continue for at least the first three operational years. Because the concern identified by NPWS relates to possible intermittent Whooper Swan and Greenland White-fronted Geese use over the lifetime of the permission, the operator shall retain the incident -reporting and shutdown capability for the operational life of the turbine. Formal monitoring may be reduced after Year 3 only where the evidence supports this and the Planning Authority, following consultation with NPWS where appropriate, accepts the revised programme. RECEIVED: 04/09/2026 Client: ART Generation Ltd. Project Title: Single Wind Turbine Carney’s Island Document Title : Bird MMP Date: Aug. 2026 Document Issue: Final Clones SWT 11 13.0 REFERENCES AND GUIDANCE Monaghan County Council (2019). Monaghan County Development Plan 2025–2031. Table 6.4 identifies Bishops Lough (MFS-12) as a County Site of Biodiversity Importance. Monaghan County Council. County Monaghan Wetland Action Plan. Bishops Lough included in the wetland inventory/action assessment. BirdWatch Ireland. Whooper Swan species account: winter visitor to wetlands throughout Ireland, principally October–April. NatureScot (current guidance). Recommended bird survey methods to inform impact assessment of onshore wind farms. Used as a technical benchmark for proportionate survey design, including VP surveys, feeding-distribution surveys and roost considerations. NatureScot (2025). Wind farm impacts on birds – use of avoidance rates in the NatureScot Wind Farm Collision Risk Model. Relevant if sufficient flight data warrant quantitative collision-risk modelling. NPWS. Submission on the proposed development, as quoted by the applicant/instructing ecologist: Bishops Lough may provide suitable habitat for intermittent usage by Whooper Swan during the lifetime of any planning consent. APPENDIX A – MINIMUM FIELD RECORDING SCHEDULE Period Routine requirement Escalation Oct–Apr Fortnightly Bishops Lough/feeding survey + distributed VP watches Weekly surveys while regular Whooper Swan/Greenland White-fronted Geese use is occurring May–Sep Incidental sensitive- species records + Targeted survey if unusual waterbird activity is identified RECEIVED: 04/09/2026 Client: ART Generation Ltd. Project Title: Single Wind Turbine Carney’s Island Document Title : Bird MMP Date: Aug. 2026 Document Issue: Final Clones SWT 12 bimonthly fatality search All year Incident reporting and operator contact maintained Immediate ecological response to casualty or repeated hazardous flights RECEIVED: 04/09/2026 Client: ART Generation Ltd. Project Title: Single Wind Turbine Carney’s Island Document Title : Bird MMP Date: Aug. 2026 Document Issue: Final Clones SWT 13 RECEIVED: 04/09/2026