Wind Energy Bird and Bat Monitoring Database
Templates for data collection and reporting
The documents available on this page are templates that have been created to facilitate data collection of pre- and post-construction wildlife monitoring data associated with Wind Energy sites. We encourage their use by proponents and consultants conducting environmental assessment and approval studies for wind power projects, to help standardize the data collection methods among sites and ensure completeness of the data. The templates have been designed to match as closely as possible the requirements of the federal and Ontario provincial guidelines (see list of references) for bird and bat monitoring at wind energy sites. In Ontario, the Ministry of Natural Resources' guidelines identify that data collected using these standardized field data forms and data submission templates is consistent with the requirements of Ontario's Bird and Bat Guidelines for Wind Power. If you have any questions about whether these forms are acceptable for data collection in your area, please contact your local agency representative before completing the surveys.
Once you have completed the surveys, we encourage you to submit a copy of your Excel data files for inclusion in the Wind Energy Bird and Bat Monitoring Database, and thus help us better understand the impact of the wind turbines on wildlife. Please contact us or send your data to wind@birdscanada.org. If your federal or provincial authority also requires you to submit the original field sheet and database, you should also send a copy to them to meet your requirements.
Downloadable kits
The PDF packages contain data field sheet templates. There is one package that contains the various forms needed for pre-construction studies, and one for post-construction studies. You should download both the PDF file, as well as the Excel file to report your data.
| Field sheets | Excel templates | |
|---|---|---|
| Post-construction kit |
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| Pre-construction kit |
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The post-construction kit contains the following forms:
- Site Description Form (Carcass searches)
- Site Description and Carcass Distribution Form (Carcass searches)
- Bird/Bat Carcass Searches Form
- Searcher Efficiency Trials Form
- Searcher Efficiency Trials Summary Form
- Carcass Removal Trials Form
- Carcass Removal Trials Summary Form
The pre-construction kit contains the following forms:
- Site Description Form (Bird and Bat Habitat Monitoring)
- Bird Monitoring Field Form (one record per species)
- Bird Monitoring Field Form (alternative version, for reporting details on individual birds)
Contact information
To submit data, please contact: Catherine Jardine, Birds Canada (cjardine@birdscanada.org)
Coding sheets
Coding sheets are also available to promote the standardization of codes and expressions used by various proponents.
List of bird species:
- Western Canada (BC - MB) - English names
- Eastern Canada (ON - NL) - English names
- Western Canada (BC - MB) - French names
- Eastern Canada (ON - NL) - French names
List of bat species:
Other codes (atlas codes, habitat, behaviour, precipitation, etc.):
References
Environment Canada. 2007. Wind Turbines and Birds. A Guidance Document for Environmental Assessment. Available from : www.ec.gc.ca/Publications/default.asp?lang=En&xml=9B1BDC4A-E66F-4EAD-B5A9-20475F7DB29B
Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. Birds and Bird Habitats: Guidelines for Windpower Projects. Available from : https://www.ontario.ca/document/birds-and-bird-habitats-guidelines-windpower-projects