This is likely to reflect the change from a homogenous arable environment to a diverse grassland habitat that also contains structures for cover or perching.
When weighting bird species according to their conservation status, solar farms scored significantly higher in terms of bird diversity and abundance, indicating their importance for declining bird species. The decline of many of these species has been attributed to intensification of agricultural practices. Solar farms with a focus on wildlife management tend towards limited use of pesticides, lower livestock stocking densities and the re-establishment of field margins, which would benefit many of these bird species.
There was no overall difference in the numbers of skylark territories when comparing solar plots to control plots, although one site showed a significantly higher number within the control plot. Nesting skylarks were confirmed within several of the control plots but at only one solar plot. The nest within the solar plot was located within the security fencing surrounding the array, but outside of the actual footprint of the array. The study shows that although skylarks may not nest beneath solar arrays, they do nest within solar farms and they do incorporate solar farms into their territorial boundaries for foraging.
The results of the bat surveys revealed that there were significantly higher levels of bat activity at the control plots when compared with the solar plots at three of the sites but no difference in bat diversity. The lower levels of bat activity within the solar plots may reflect the problems bats have discerning artificially smooth surfaces such as solar panels. The results of the survey are, however, inconclusive due to potential issues with the survey methodology and warrant further research into this area.