Abstract
APEM and Normandeau were contracted by Equinor Wind US (hereafter referred to as Equinor) to provide combined spring through fall digital aerial wildlife surveys of the Massachusetts Lease Area OCS-A 0520. This will comprise the second year of surveys following the initial Year 1 surveys undertaken from March 2020 to November 2020. Surveys will be carried out on a monthly basis from March 2021 through October 2021, except for April, May, August and September, when two surveys per month shall be carried out in order to coincide with potential use of the area by roseate tern (Sterna dougallii).
The aims and objectives of the work are to assess the abundance and distribution of birds, marine mammals, turtles, sharks, and rays present in the Lease Area OCS-A 0520 over the course of spring through fall. The surveys will provide the baseline information required for conducting impact assessments and are consistent with the survey guidelines for providing avian, marine mammal, and sea turtle information for renewable energy development on the OCS (BOEM 2017 and 2019).
The Survey Area referred to herein is comprised of the Lease Area OCS-A 0520, plus a 2 km (c. 1 NM) buffer surrounding it with an approximately 4 km (c. 2 NM) buffer towards the northeast end. Images were captured using a grid-based survey design with a 1.5 cm ground sampling distance (GSD).
Images were analyzed by APEM and quality assurance (QA) was undertaken by Normandeau. This report describes the results of the March 2021, April 2021, May 2021, and June 2021 surveys.
This is the first of two progress reports (Spring and Fall) to summarize the information collected following the completion of six aerial surveys of the Survey Area: March 2021, April 2021 (two surveys), May 2021 (two surveys), and June 2021.
The following information is provided in Section 3:
• The number of surveys conducted to date; and
• The dates, start and end times, and weather conditions.
The following information is provided in Section 4, 5, and 6:
• The number of bird species / taxonomic groupings;
• Maps showing the locations of birds and actual survey route; and
• The status of data processing, error checking, and analysis.
Shipping information recorded visually from the aircraft or captured in the imagery has been provided in Section 7.
For surveys that have not yet been reported (July 2021 to October 2021), the survey dates have been provided in Section 8.These data are awaiting finalization and will be included in the Fall Report.
The reports that are remaining as part of the requirements of Equinor are as follows.
• Monthly reports for the remaining surveys (July to October 2021 inclusive, with two reports for August and September); and
• Fall Report to summarize data collected from the completed surveys: July 2021, August 2021 (two surveys), September 2021 (two surveys), and October 2021.