Weird banging and grinding sounds off Caithness coast described as 'horrendous'
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Residents around the Lybster and Dunbeath coastline took to social media to voice their concerns over loud noises that one person said was "driving me mad".
A post by Michelle Brennan, who recently moved to the area, garnered a few replies from concerned locals who worried not only about the rhythmic thumping noise but the possible detrimental affects on sealife.
Michelle wrote: "What is the banging we can hear now out at sea? With that racket we will be lucky [to] see any wildlife."
Speaking to Highland News Media she added: "We have only just moved to the area, the noise was horrendous.
"We went for a lovely walk down by the harbour with the dogs. We could hear the banging but not sure what it was. We heard it coming from the horizon – it was terrible.
"Both myself and my husband John are wildlife lovers, on land and in the sea. We are waiting to see the orcas which are currently up and down the Caithness coast, and I dread to think of the impact that is having on the sealife."
On the Dunbeath Village Facebook page where she posted her original comment, a few residents said it came from wind turbines being erected.
Michelle said she knows that offshore windfarms create "airborne, underwater and seabed noise vibrations" but is particularly concerned about the "detrimental impact on sealife" while putting the turbines up. "Both fish and marine mammals depend on their sense of hearing to survive. Whales and dolphins navigate by echolocation, which is biological sonar, and use a variety of sounds to communicate with each other. No-one really knows what building hundreds of wind turbines in the sea will do to them if that's what the noise is."
On Sunday at around 6pm she also noted a "grinding noise" that appeared to be coming from an offshore source.
Speaking on behalf of Moray West Offshore Wind Farm, which is currently under construction in the Moray Firth, stakeholder manager Roger McMichael said: "We have looked into the question of the noise reported by several residents around the Lybster area.
"We are now over halfway through the piling part of the offshore installation campaign for our Moray West offshore wind farm. Piling has been going on since October last. Reports of this noise issue have emerged only recently.
"If the noise is coming from our piling activity, then it is likely coming from the installation vessel that started on the project in February. Piling occurs when weather allows and rarely lasts longer than two hours in a day.
"We have checked compliance with our consents and are fully confident we are operating within the specified limits for piling activity. Indeed, the finalised piling plan delivered lower levels of piling than were originally consented.
"We are, however, mindful of the concerns expressed by residents regarding the potential effects on marine life as well as the noise they are hearing at times. Marine mammal mitigation forms part of the consent that regulates our activity and is being fully implemented.
He says he is hopeful that the current fine weather will allow the piling to be finished by the end of April and move towards "completion of the project and generation of wind powered renewable energy, enough to power the equivalent of 1.3 million Scottish homes".
