species. Future research may focus on the use of solar sites by raptors (which would also include nocturnal surveys) or an investigation into the abundance and diversity of small mammals through Longworth trapping and footprint tunnel surveys.
7.1.30 Another aim of the study was to investigate the usage of solar sites by ground nesting birds, as it is generally assumed that these species will be dissuaded from utilising these sites due to the cluttered nature of the environment. Skylark was the only ground nesting bird which was regularly recorded and the analysis shows that at only one site was the number of skylark territories within the control plot significantly higher than at the solar plot. Overall, there was no significant difference between solar and control plots. This shows that skylarks are utilising solar farms within their territorial boundaries. However, only one confirmed nest was identified within a solar plot (at Site 10, the highest overall ranking site when looking at all indicators). The nest was situated outside of the footprint of the array but within the security fencing surrounding the site in an area of grassland measuring approximately 40x90m. This has implications for assessing impacts on skylarks and mitigation for this species within other solar farm sites, as quite often within the layout of solar farms large areas remain outside of the footprint of the array due to various factors (underground services, public rights of way, visual impacts etc.). If these areas can be managed specifically for ground nesting birds, they may contribute towards mitigation for these species. It should be noted, however, that Site 10 was situated in an area with very few hedgerows and trees and so where these features are present, a larger open area may be required to encourage ground nesting.
7.1.31 Although the study shows that skylarks do not nest within the footprint of the array, it does show that this species will forage within solar farms. Indeed, within two of the Sites (2 and 4), significantly higher numbers of foraging skylarks were observed within the solar plots when compared to the control plots.
7.1.32 In conclusion, although skylarks were not found to utilise solar sites for nesting, they do incorporate them into their territorial boundaries and some of the sites may represent a valuable foraging resource for this species. An interesting focus for future research would be to assess the productivity of skylarks utilising solar and control plots. A proposed hypothesis may be that skylarks nesting adjacent to solar farms would be more productive than those on control plots due to the increase in foraging resources.
Can solar farms encourage a greater diversity of bats?
7.1.33 The findings of the study generally suggest that fewer bats are recorded within the solar array than within the control plot, although the differences in abundance of bats was only significant on a small number of sites and the overall comparison of solar and control plots was not significantly different. It also appears clear that bats do not entirely avoid solar arrays with regular activity by bats recorded at all sites.
7.1.34 The bat activity at both solar and control plots was generally very low when compared with other static surveys of this type, although this is likely to reflect the placement of the microphones in the middle of the fields, as most species of bat utilise hedgerow habitats or other linear features for navigation.
7.1.35 Interestingly, although the bat activity was low, the number of species was relatively high, although there was no significant difference between solar and control plots. A peak number of eight species were recorded at several sites and this includes the pooling of the Myotis genus, which cannot be separated to species by call alone. It should be noted, however, that the distribution of bat species is limited within the UK and several of the sites were located in areas where more species of bats are present, therefore, a direct comparison between sites cannot be made.
37
7.1.36 It is unclear if the general reduced levels of activity recorded within the solar plots when compared with the control plots is a real relationship or whether this is an artefact of the survey methodology.
7.1.37 The detectors employed during the surveys were fitted with high-gain microphones which are able to pick up calls, in particular loud calls, at substantial distance. Microphones were therefore placed at least 50m from field
boundaries, where possible.
7.1.38 As such, whilst the microphones were placed at least 50m from the field boundaries within both the arrays and the control plots it is unclear if the bats recorded by the detectors were recorded within the fields or at the field boundaries. Furthermore, due to the presence of the solar panels within the array it is likely that calls would attenuate more quickly within this cluttered environment than within the control sites which