Impacts of Oil and Gas Activities on Migratory Birds: Examining the Effects of Lights and Flares on Migratory Birds in Offshore Oil and Gas Activities

Abstract

Thousands of oil and gas platforms are currentlyoperating in offshore waters globally, and this industry is expected to expandin coming decades. Although the potential environmental impacts of offshore oiland gas activities are widely recognized, there is limited understanding oftheir impacts on migratory and resident birds. The most frequently observedeffect, for seabirds and land birds, is attraction and sometimes collisionsassociated with lights and flares; episodic events have caused the deaths ofhundreds or even thousands of birds.