Last week we sent one of our team out of a Great Crested Newt: Ecology and Surveying course run by Field Studies Council.
The course was a great opportunity to see smooth, palmate and great crested newts in the same pond and gain confidence in identifying each of them.
Last week we held a practical training day for all of our staff to introduce or refresh knowledge on practical skills needed for the upcoming season.
We covered deploying static bat detectors, Night time Bat Walkovers (NBWs), emergence surveys NVA use, GCN eDNA and bottle trapping.
While foxes and their dens are not protected under UK law the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, Wild Mammals Act 1996, Animal Welfare Act 2006 etc. ensures no unnecessary harm or suffering occurs to the animals. This can include the blocking of dens with cubs inside.
Our camera traps are beginning to go out again and we've been lucky to spot some amazing sights including this Red Fox having a pigeon meal. They live in underground burrows much like the badger.
This week we continued our biweekly CPD session with a session on Water Vole and Otters! We sent a couple of our team to attend the Species Recovery Trust’s Water Voles and Otters - Ecology and Survey course , which they greatly benefitted from.
Last weeks' survey highlight were these colt's-foot and black thorn in flower proving spring is well as truly on the way!
These were spotted during a Winter Bird Survey in Lincolnshire, on the survey our surveyors recorded:
- Skylark
- Linnets
- Lapwing
- Little Grebe
- Green Sandpiper
Earlier this month one of our assistants has recently attended the Bat Conservation Trust’s Surveying Bats in Trees Course and has been putting her skills into practice assisting in GLTAs.
She got the opportunity to practice using an endoscope and found these two hibernating frogs inside a tree!
This week we continue on with our biweekly CPD sessions to put a focus on training and developing the knowledge of our staff and supporting those just starting out.
Yesterday's session focussed on badger ecology, but so far topics have included River Condition Assessments, Winter Twig ID etc.
Before the new year the government announced that changes are coming to the planning system.
Developments on sites less than 0.2ha will now be exempt from BNG (this is an increase of 80 times than previous size exemptions).
defraenvironment.blog.gov.uk/2025/12/17/p...
Here's a lovely example of an unexpected sighting on one of our emergence surveys last summer. This fox was spotted thanks to the use of our thermal cameras, a tool we have recently found useful on bat surveys to pick out bats, especially in cluttered environments.
This curlew was spotted near the Humber Estuary last week by one of our ornithologists on a day-time tidal bird survey.
Curlew are the largest British wader and have a characteristic long curved bill.
