Effect of noise generated by construction sites on birds

Noise from human activities (in particular from infrastructure and construction sites) has a strong impact on the physiology and behavior of birds. This impact concerns the masking of signals used (1) for communication and mating and (2) for hunting. As a result of this masking, there is a decrease in bird density with an increase in noise level. Furthermore, if alternative silent habitats do not exist, the noise impact could negatively affect wild bird conservation. While the Directive 2009/147/EC of the European Parliament recognizes that habitat loss and degradation are the most serious threats to the conservation of wild birds, noise impact evaluations are usually based on existing studies, without specific forecast model evaluations. In this work, a quantitative method for evaluating the impact of noise on wild birds is proposed. The method combines the results from previous studies considering the effect of noise on birds with noise mapping evaluations. A forecast noise simulation was used to determine maps of (1) masking-annoyance areas and (2) potential density variation. These results allow the determination of the highest risk areas for wild birds. Consequently, it is necessary to focus the noise mitigation design on these areas.