Rob

This author has written 16 articles

Planning for Ecology Surveys

  • January 23, 2012
  • Blog

Christmas is well and truly gone, and many people are looking forward to a busy year ahead. If you are involved in submitting a planning application, or working on a new development proposal, our advice is to think ahead, and don’t get caught out by ecological surveys with a restricted season.

Below is our survey calendar, which will allow you to plan for commission of survey in a timely manner. WFE are usually positioned to provide a rapid response to client requests, but inevitably there are very busy periods when this is more of a challenge.

The narrowest survey season is for great crested newts, where at least 4 survey visits are normally spread between March and June. If your development has ponds nearby, these surveys may be required. As with many of the surveys, it can be problematic to remedy a missed survey window later in the season. In the event great crested newts are observed by surveys and considered to be affected by the proposal, it may take a further month or more to receive a development licence from Natural England.

Bat roost assessments for development can take place at any time of year. However, if signs of bats are found, further investigations in the form of evening emergence and/or dawn surveys will be required to support a development licence application. These surveys are seasonal, and would only be meaningful if undertaken in the time of year that bats are active, April to September.

Ecological appraisal and Phase 1 habitat survey, the look-see and scoping surveys for sites, can be undertaken at any time of year – however in areas rich in flora, a return visit may need to be made in the spring/ summer when some plant species are more visible. BREEAM and C4SH surveys are possible at any time of year although spring/ summer is preferable in terms of survey reliability.

Getting all surveys completed at the correct time of year greatly improves the prospect of a smooth and efficient passage towards planning permission, and will provide a sound basis for reaching solutions to any ecological issues. Our team are always ready to discuss particular proposals, so if in doubt, give us a call.

Rob

A Bat Survey in Norfolk

  • September 22, 2010
  • Blog

Love ‘em or hate ‘em – bats are one of those marmite species groups that either cause shudders of pain or coos of delight. I fall firmly into the latter camp, and doing bat surveys in Norfolk is very often, I think, one of the most intimate of wildlife experiences.

While some of my more experienced colleagues are licensed experts, being qualified to handle bats amongst other things, my own experiences are limited to arm’s length surveying techniques, such as using bat detectors. As we routinely record all bat sounds using these devices, surveys can be undertaken by ecologists with a relatively low skill base. Some bats are not heard on survey, but only discovered lurking on the sound recording on analysis the day after. The bat species recorded on our Norfolk surveys are often quite predictable.

The commonest species are almost always the two pipistrelles, common and soprano. These bats forage widely in the East Anglian countryside, and are often encountered hawking for insects along hedgerows remote from any potential roosting site. Their distinctive echolocation signals also make them easy to identify, with common pip registering at 45KHz and soprano registering at 55KHz, and they will frequently fly very close to observers, perhaps mistaking you in the dark for a small tree or insect-attracting farm animal.

Larger bats are generally scarcer in Norfolk, but because they are wide ranging do often get recorded on surveys as a single fly-through. Noctule, serotine and Leisler’s bats fall into this category. Being larger, they also echolocate at a lower frequency, though if close the calls can be almost deafening through the bat detector. Brown long-eared bat, though a relatively common species, rarely gets picked up on bat survey transects due to its short echolocation range. The other group of frequently encountered bat species in Norfolk are the Myotis bats – especially Daubenton’s and Natterer’s. These species have distinct habitat preferences, with Daubenton’s preferring to forage over water, and Natterer’s preferring woodland. Daubenton’s fly in a distinctive manner, skimming low over the water with an immobile body, and fast fluttering wings. Their echolocation is broadband, and has often been likened to a marble bouncing on a mirror.

The last group of bats is the rares, the ones that make the hair stand up on the back of your neck. Barbastelle is the ascendant among these, thinly distributed in East Anglian woodlands, but there are also other species such as Brandt’s and whiskered bats and Nathusius’s pipistrelle about which very little is known in Norfolk. There are no doubt concentrations of these species in Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire awaiting discovery.

Rob

Robert Yaxley

Robert Yaxley

 

Bird Surveys in Norfolk

  • September 3, 2010
  • Blog

Doing bird surveys in Norfolk, Suffolk and the rest of East Anglia has stacked up to be a significant part of my working life for nearly 20 years. From my teenage years, undertaking BTO Atlas surveys on my bike in Central Norfolk, through years of RSPB research, to consultant surveys and wind farm vantage point watches on sites proposed for development, it has provided a constant touchstone through the years.

In work terms, the dewy early morning at the start of a Common Birds Census survey always provides a frisson of excitement, especially for some sites in East Anglia, where even the most average-looking piece of farmland could turn up the odd quail, marsh harrier or stone curlew. Indeed, over the years, surveys have turned up the odd genuine rarity such as crane, red-backed shrike, Savi’s warbler, purple heron, and lesser grey shrike (not all original finds, for the bird historians out there).

Bird surveys can provide genuine ecological surprises too – birds nesting out of their known range, surprising densities, or (more commonly) surprising absences. They also give a snapshot of what is really going on with the general bird zeitgeist – for examples, ever increasing numbers of buzzards, little egrets and peregrines in the East of England, and ever dwindling numbers of willow warblers, cuckoos and grey partridges in the wider countryside.

It has also provided me with intimate knowledge of a few species – the difficulties faced by pairs of yellowhammers in a modern farming environment where the machine is king, and the bizarre behaviour of the huge flocks of golden plovers that overwinter in East Anglia, particularly on the huge prairie fields of Norfolk and Cambridgeshire. My colleague Graham spent many years getting to know all of Norfolk and Suffolk Breckland’s stone curlews on first name terms, and sure knows a thing or two about their weird ways.

Wild Frontier has evolved a pragmatic but thorough approach to ornithological and bird assessments partly through the experience our bird team has accrued, particularly in lowland situations, but also through our understanding of the impacts of development on birds. Our pool of expert surveyors, some of them big league birders, is not just a tool for getting the best quality surveys, it is also an unbeatable resource of shared practical experience and knowledge.

Rob

Robert Yaxley

Ecology Technology

  • June 14, 2010
  • Blog

When I started out on my career in ecology – as an assistant warden on the Farne Islands – new boys were sent on a computer training course. I remember the darkened room with green monitor screens, the general confusion caused by the clunky and counter intuitive spreadsheet and word processing packages, and the general amusement caused by the whole charade, as in reality there was only one computer to be shared between nine of us. One generally felt that the technology was more trouble than it was worth, and anyway none of us were that good at it.

Life on the islands was simple, with two way radios our only regular form of communication. All our ornithological note-taking was done by gaslight, mainly in notebooks with paper and pencil. No-one had the money to buy decent photographic equipment. Communicating with friends and family was possible by letter or occasional phone call. The toilet flushing water had to be hand pumped from the North Sea. Need I say more?

When I visited the Islands last year, Dave Steele the head warden explained how the wardens’ lives had been revolutionised by mobile phones, blogging, solar panels, motorised winches and the bird recording by the use of digiscoping. The wardens looked like healthy, balanced individuals as opposed to the crazed bunch of half-starved zombies that emerged from the islands in December 1991. There was no doubt that in the intervening 18 years what is at times a very challenging job had become significantly easier, more effective and more fun for those lucky enough to work there. If you visit their excellent blog http://farnephoto.blogspot.com you can readily see the results of the tech advances. I didn’t ask about the toilets.

In more mundane localities, ecologists have also taken full advantage of the available technology to make their work more effective, accurate and accessible. Our reports are now full of accurate site plans, using GPS, lavishly illustrated, superbly designed, and take far less time to produce than even ten years ago. Surveys are supported by superb pieces of kit like bat detectors coupled to recordable mp3 devices, crystal clear optics, mobile phone cameras, sophisticated weather recording devices, endoscopes, night vision equipment – the list goes on. Use of digital aerial imagery has also greatly assisted in accuracy of site mapping. Ecologists are, as a result, able to achieve a great deal in much less time, and to a much higher standard.

Technology has driven up the standards of ecological work as new kit has become readily available. I have frequently seen tenders and work specifications which request data or survey techniques which require a technological solution – be it recordings of bat calls, sophisticated mapping imagery or use of complex databases. Digital photos allow evidence to be scrutinised thoroughly, and accurate mapping has changed vegetation survey from an art to a science.

So, looking forwards, how can technology improve yet further the quality of ecological work, and what would be on my own wish list for ace gadgets? Well, this is not an exhaustive list, but here goes:

  1. More practical and sophisticated equipment for static bat detection and recording, perhaps with predictive software for bat identification.
  2. The further integration of high quality optics with digital camera technology at an affordable price.
  3. An all-in-one field device for ecologists – a weatherproof gadget that takes photos with GPS location, and allows mapping directly in the field, as well as the collection of audio and visual evidence.
  4. Satellite imagery that’s completely up to date (like – yesterday).
  5. Teleport (no more Travelodge!).
  6. X ray vision (this would also be fun for a number of reasons).
  7. Bionics.

The last three are optional, but just think…

Rob

Robert Yaxley

Who is an Ecologist?

Having been working in this field for a considerable time, and being in the position of recruiting and managing ecologists, I frequently have cause to reflect on the ecologist’s role, and what makes a good (and bad) ecologist. Needless to say, all WFE’s staff are of the highest calibre, and exhibit all of the qualities required for success(!). Here are a digest of some of these reflections.

In short, a good ecologist needs to be a jack-of-all-trades. Aside from the basics – high levels of literacy and numeracy, commitment and passion, all sorts of bizarre secondary skills can be required to see through a job from start to finish: metalworker, hydrological engineer, graphic designer, motor mechanic, statistician, caterer, accountant, negotiator, labourer, animal handler, geographer, legal adviser and explorer – all fall under the ecologist’s umbrella. The old stereotype of a dry, strictly scientific existence are belied by the reality of the world of work.

That is not to say that many of the places one finds oneself in are anything too glamorous – the distinctly spooky burnt out cellars of an old maltings, the most degraded arable wastes, open miles of beach shingle, semi-detached lofts, polluted balancing ponds and supermarket car parks – all are worktime hangouts for the jobbing ecologist.

The sheer variety of challenges that are encountered are certainly a major attraction of the job. I have experienced months where I have been involved in all of the following one after the other: vegetation surveys on exposed tops of the Yorkshire Dales, writing detailed reports on bird populations in lowland farmland, catching reptiles in Kent, locating and labelling veteran trees in Norfolk and doing topographic surveys in the Broads. And that is on top of juggling several subconsultants, trying to keep the money coming in and the ageing vehicle running. And it’s not just me – virtually every ecologist I know is presented with a similar array of challenges.

Excelling at multi-tasking and conceptual ball juggling are not the only demands – a keen observational faculty, attention to detail, a steady hand, consistency, clear thinking and physical stamina all play their part. It’s not easy being green. The upside is a hugely rewarding and fulfilling job, and many of us I believe feel that we are “living the dream”.

For those people starting on a career in ecology, the advice is clear – you made the right choice, stick with it and don’t give up! Times are tough, and our profession as well as many others has been quite deeply affected, but we will always be needed, and I am very optimistic for the future. Go get em!

Rob

Robert Yaxley

Some Observations From a Vantage Point

  • March 2, 2010
  • Blog

The increasing rigour of pre-development surveys in the last ten years has led me to some strange places in which to watch birds. The particular form of survey which has predominated in my experience is associated with wind farm proposals, and is termed vantage point survey. The principle behind such surveys is to evaluate the use by birds of airspace to be occupied at some point in the future by wind turbines. In practice, for the observer, this means watching from a convenient and well placed spot, and counting birds flying over or across the landscape. While the science behind such an approach is clear, the experience of doing the survey can be anything from crushingly boring to intensely gripping, but always requiring 100% concentration.

Only rarely does the weather allow us the luxury of removing outer garments – standing still does not lend itself to keeping warm on all except the balmiest of days. For myself I remember a cold day in December when I decided to use a deck chair to observe from. All was well until the end of the watch when I tried to stand up and found I could not feel my legs for the cold, collapsing to the ground. It took me several hours and a hot bath to warm up again.

You get to know the vantage point regulars very quickly and eventually in great depth – the busy, hovering kestrel, monotonously circling buzzards, skittish golden plovers and buoyant lapwings. The odd rarer bird, such as the fleetingly seen large white (gyr?) falcon I saw last year, causes a racing of the pulse, and like fly fishing it keeps you hanging on for the next one. Estimating flying height and distance is difficult at first, and to my mind requires a good knowledge of the site, a knowledge of the bird species, due consideration to weather conditions and visibility. To say it becomes easier with experience is not to belittle the vigilance with which such estimations are made.

The sites are often that curious mixture of rural and industrial – the agribusiness farm with giant tractors hauling giant ploughs, or the landscape dominated by pylons and power lines, or criss-crossed by major roads and railways. All are tied together by the inherent openness and exposure to the wind, and other commonalities such as the predominance of wildlife of open spaces such as golden plovers, meadow pipits, brown hares and skylarks.

The solitary observer, motionless in the landscape, also has a great opportunity to observe wildlife without themselves being observed. Frequently, open fields are crossed by wary foxes, scattering hares and skylarks, or hedges are shadowed by sparrowhawks hoping to pick off the odd unlucky chaffinch. Sometimes the eyes are briefly averted as a motorist has a pee behind a hedge. Odder sites are provided by the wildlife, such as a bat being chased by crows in full daylight, or a kestrel repeatedly robbing a barn owl as it brings voles back to its nest, or the sudden convergence of hundreds of gulls seemingly from nowhere on a ploughing tractor.

More spectacular still are the dynamic cloudscapes and incidental movements of small parties of birds at great height, perhaps on non-stop migration to distant tundra nesting grounds. For consultants like us, with their feet very much on the ground, these surveys can provide a reminder that there is an immense aerial dimension that exists for birds about which we still know rather little.

Rob

Robert Yaxley

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