Successful Falconry Program in the Southern North Sea

NBC Environment have successfully delivered the first Falconry Program in the Southern North Sea. The program has acted as a textbook example of a non-lethal method of deterring and protecting the UK Kittiwake population on offshore installations allowing for timely decommissioning. THREE60 Energy – who were Duty Holder of the Schooner & Ketch Platforms throughout the decommissioning of the assets, were delighted with the program results.

“Working with NBC Environment, their specialist wildlife expertise, can-do attitude and solution-driven approach quickly became apparent,” says Paul Tyerman, Senior HSE Advisor at THREE60 Energy. “I cannot speak highly enough of the NBC team, as subject matter experts for wildlife management offshore, the results of their program speak for themselves.”

The Ketch and Schooner offshore installation, located off the East coast of England, were due for decommissioning in 2022/2023, meaning the installation would no longer provide a secure sanctuary for any existing Kittiwake populations.

(Image credit: NBC Environment)

In line with UK legislation which is designed to ensure the effect of decommissioning does not have a detrimental effect on local wildlife, operators THREE60 Energy commissioned NBC Environment to assess the nesting Kittiwake population on the platforms and provide key data to support the decommissioning programs.

NBC Environment’s survey conducted in 2021 found 224 Kittiwake nests, 316 eggs and 307 chicks on the Schooner platform. These results meant that NBC strategically deployed a Falconry Program in 2022 to protect and move the Kittiwake population.

The decommissioning of Ketch was successfully completed in April 2022, without the need for a specialist wildlife license after a detailed NBC Environment survey confirmed no nesting presence on the asset.

The program used three falcons to deter Kittiwakes from the Schooner platform, towards a new, safer habitat. Being birds of prey and a natural threat to Kittiwakes, these falcons are hand reared by their own Falconers. They are highly trained to only deter the birds from nesting by being visible in specific areas on the platform or in flight around it, proving to be an extremely effective non-lethal deterrent.

NBC Falconer carrying out program to platform.(Photo credit: NBC Environment)

(Image credit: NBC Environment)

In April 2023, a final pre-lift survey of Schooner was conducted by NBC Environment, discovering that their Falconry Program had resulted in an impressive reduction to just 22% in Kittiwake nests on the platform and a reduction to 7% in Kittiwake eggs. A demonstration that a significant number of the flock had indeed successfully found new nesting grounds along the coast of the UK mainland. The program’s successful outcome resulted in the UK Government granting a license for removal works to continue under a strict set condition.

The careful planning, diligent surveys and effective application of Falconry by NBC Environment allowed for both the Ketch and Schooner offshore installations to be successfully decommissioned without compromising the Kittiwake population that existed on the structures. The next generation of Kittiwakes born to the flock in the 2023 and subsequent nesting season, will never know the platforms were there.