Monitoring of bird and bat populations is often required before a project can be permitted. Integrated Environmental Data has conducted a variety of bird studies for wind energy projects, including spring breeding bird surveys, habitat surveys, and raptor migration surveys. We also do bat acoustical monitoring via tower-based passive monitoring using Wildlife Acoustics SM-2 or Anabat recorders. We also have experience with ground level active monitoring using Anabat recorders, and driving tours using the Binary Acoustic Technologies AR-125 sensor. Complete integration of bird and bat data with met. tower data is done routinely.
Habitat assessment is often assisted by the use of aerial photos or satellite imagery, particularly when infrared or multispectral images are available. We are accustomed to interpreting imagery for the purpose of doing environmental assessments.