Film Predicting bird migration with bird radar

Music plays

National government logo appears
Text on screen: Bird detection over the North Sea
Footage of birds flying

Text spoken by Camiel van der Hout, Offshore Wind Energy programme, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy
“The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy is responsible for implementing the Dutch Offshore Wind Energy Roadmap. The Ministry has commissioned a study on bird migration over the North Sea. The results of that study should make it easier for offshore wind farms to factor in bird migration.”

Images during text by Camiel van der Hout:
Camiel van der Hout on the dike
Aerial view of the Netherlands and the North Sea from Google Earth with arrows showing the direction of bird migration
Screenshot of bird radar images with explanation from the Offshore Expertise Centre
Bird swarms

Text spoken by Jos de Visser, Offshore Wind Energy Ecological Programme, Rijkswaterstaat
“We already know many bird species migrate over the North Sea, but we do not know exactly which routes they take. We also know they usually fly at altitudes higher than the wind turbines. However, under certain conditions, they will fly lower. In that case, they might hit the rotor blades of the wind turbines. To prevent this, we would have to switch off all the turbines. This would result in the loss of a lot of electricity at once and risk a power outage. That is why we have asked the University of Amsterdam to develop a model that can predict mass bird migration at rotor height.”

Images during text by Jos de Visser:
Jos de Visser in the reception area of the Offshore Expertise Centre
Woman on the dike watching birds fly by
Bird swarms at sea
Wind turbines at sea
Jos de Visser in the reception area of the Offshore Expertise Centre
National government flag flying

Text spoken by Camiel van der Hout, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy
“The study involves the installation of a number of radars, first at the Offshore Expertise Centre in Stellendam and then at the offshore wind farms themselves.”

Images during text by Camiel van der Hout:
Camiel van der Hout on the dike
Footage of the Offshore Expertise Centre

Text spoken by Joris Diehl, Maritime Information Provision Service Point (MIVSP), Rijkswaterstaat
“At MIVSP, we install bird radars to collect bird flight movement data. A bird radar actually consists of a horizontal and vertical radar. This allows us to determine both the altitude and the location of the birds. The birds are followed for some time in order to get a good idea of their flight movements.”

Images during text by Joris Diehl:
Joris Diehl in the outside area of the Offshore Expertise Centre with a mast and rotating radar behind him
Footage of the Offshore Expertise Centre
Horizontal and vertical bird radar on the top deck of the Offshore Expertise Centre platform
Footage of the radar in the mast
Joris Diehl at his computer, looking at his screen

Text spoken by Maja Bradaric, researcher at the University of Amsterdam
“We are trying to understand the relationship between migration patterns and weather patterns and we hope to use this information to develop a predictive model that will be able to predict bird migration 48 hours in advance.”

Images during text by Maja Bradaric:
Maja Bradaric at her computer in her workspace at the University of Amsterdam, looking at models and graphs
Maja Bradaric working out formulas on a whiteboard, then pulling a book from a shelf and studying it

Text spoken by Joris Diehl, Maritime Information Provision Service Point (MIVSP), Rijkswaterstaat
“Once the bird radars have been properly tested, they will be installed offshore, at TenneT transformer stations, some Ørsted and Eneco wind turbines, and on an oil platform.”

Images during text by Joris Diehl:
TenneT's BSA transformer platform at the Borssele Alpha wind farm
Animation of planned bird radar sites

No more spoken text from this point on
Music swells
Images (drone footage) of the Offshore Expertise Centre, with birds flying by
Image zooms out to sea and the Haringvliet dam with a swarm of birds in the sky

Text on screen:
“Recent research has provided new and useful insights into the flight altitudes of migratory birds and seabirds in spring and autumn.

In addition to studies on bird migration, the data is also used by other research institutes for research into bird behaviour at and around wind farms.”

National government logo appears

Music stops.

THE END

In the Offshore Expertise Center of the Maritime Information Provision Service Point (MIVSP), Joris Diehl of Rijkswaterstaat and Camiel van der Hout of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy talk about the bird radar. This is a new specially developed instrument to see when birds fly over the North Sea. If the bird radar shows a massive bird migration, wind turbines can be stopped in time. This way, these birds do not collide with the rotating blades. Jos de Visser explains that wind turbines cannot simply be shut down. This can cause problems on our electricity grid.

To prevent these problems on the electricity grid, it is important that TenneT knows two days in advance when they have to switch off the turbines. That is why Rijkswaterstaat has asked the University of Amsterdam (UvA) to investigate bird migration and to create a forecasting model that can predict 48 hours in advance. Maja Bradaric of the UvA shows how this works.

The data from the bird radars can also be used to research the behavior of coastal and sea birds in wind farms. This study is being used to improve the estimation of the risk of collision victims of these species. This research and the bird radar are part of the Wind at Sea Ecological Program (WOZEP)