Posts Tagged ‘Water vole’
Thursday, August 4th, 2011
Tarbock Hall is a 86 hectare parcel of land west of Liverpool on which developers intend to restore the dilapidated farm buildings as luxury houses, and also create a golf course.
UES has been involved in numerous surveys on site including bat surveys, National Vegetation Classification surveys (NVC), macro invertebrate surveys, breeding bird surveys, great crested newt surveys and water vole surveys. As part of the on-going ecological management of the site additional ecological surveys and monitoring were recommended to our client, one being water vole.
UES returned this year to conduct further water vole surveys in order to monitor the local population. The results were positive as various water vole field signs were found including, latrines, feeding remains and burrows. Other notable wildlife includes a moorhen’s nest which was found within a reed bed.
Discussions are now taking place on how best to increase water vole occupancy on site by way of appropriate management of invasive and dominant vegetation, creation of additional wetland habitats and increased connectivity measures.
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Moorhen nest
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Water vole feeding remains – Reed canary grass
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Water vole latrine
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Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010
Flexibility
Defra have announced that Natural England will be granted more flexible powers to enforce breaches of wildlife legislation. The legislation applies to certain protected species such as the great crested newt, water vole, badgers and natterjack toads. The legislation also applies to all of our resident bat species.
Formerley Natural England had only three options available, these were
- issue of warning letters
- issue of caution
- full criminal prosecution
New powers
Under the new powers regulators will be able to match the strength of the sanction to the seriousness of the offence and also:
- Halt illegal activities
- order the restoration of environmental damage
- impose fines where legislation has been breached
Further information can be found on Natural Englands website by following the link below
http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/about_us/news/2010/030210.aspx
Tags: brandts bats, daubentons bats, enforcement powers, european protected species licence, great crested newt, greater horseshoe bats, legislation changes, leislers bats, lesser horseshoe bat, natterers bat, Natural England, noctule bat, pipistrelle bat, serotine bats, United Environmental Services, Water vole, whiskered bats, wildlife legislation
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Thursday, January 7th, 2010
United Environmental Services carry out surveys across Cheshire. The surveys which are carried out in Cheshire include great crested newt surveys, bat surveys, Phase 1 habitat surveys, breeding bird surveys, water vole surveys and a full range of environmental surveys. United Environmental Services also offer landscape design and garden design services in Cheshire and can provide the materials and implementation work if required. We have a team of experienced surveyors, landscape architects and ground workers who work to a high standard across Cheshire.
Bat Surveys in Cheshire
Bat surveys can be undertaken in Cheshire at most times of the year. Bats are most active in Cheshire during the spring and summer months. Bat activity surveys can only be carried out in Cheshire at these times of year. At other times of year it is possible to carry out bat scoping surveys of buildings, and bat scoping surveys of trees and other structures which may support roosting bats. If signs of use by bats or features which could support roosting bats are found, then it will be necessary to complete bat activity surveys during the spring or summer. In Cheshire many bat surveys are carried out on barns and farm buildings. This is in order to gain planning permission. Barn conversions are one of the most common causes of loss of bat habitat which is why local planning authorities insist on bat surveys prior to planning permission being granted. There are several species of bat which are resident in Cheshire. These include Noctule bat, common pipistrelle bat, soprano pipistrelle bat, Nathusius’ pipistrelle bat, Daubentons’ bat, Whiskered bat, Brandt’s’ bat. United Environmental Services use several pieces of high tech equipment to find bats during a bat survey. These include bat boxes which can detect the echolocation calls of bats and the Anabat system which detects bat echolocation calls and displays them visually on a PDA screen which makes recording of the bat calls and identification of the bat species much more accurate.
Great Crested Newt Surveys in Cheshire
Great crested newt surveys can be carried out in Cheshire during spring and early summer. Pond surveys for great crested newts are undertaken at a time of year when the great crested newt population returns to the pond to breed. Great crested newt pond surveys have to be carried out to strict guidelines and so the people undertaking them must be properly trained, licensed and experienced to carry out great crested newt pond surveys. Cheshire has many ponds and wet areas which are suitable for great crested newts. Any action which has the potential to disturb great crested newts or their habitats must be preceded by great crested newt surveys of the pond or area, to ensure that no great crested newts are disturbed. United Environmental Services have experienced and appropriately licensed staff that can carry out great crested newt surveys in Cheshire. At times of year when great crested newts are not in the ponds, other survey methods can be employed. The main technique used is the habitat suitability index which is an accepted method of assessing a habitat for its suitability for use by great crested newts.
Phase 1 Habitat surveys in Cheshire
Phase 1 habitat surveys can be carried out in Cheshire at any time of year however the optimum time of year to carry out habitat surveys is during the spring and summer months when a more complete range of Cheshire’s flora and fauna are active. Phase 1 habitat surveys are used to catalogue the different types of habitat which are found in a given area. The results of the phase 1 habitat survey can then be used to assess the impacts of a development on an area and if necessary to specify if any further survey work is required. An example of this would be if a badger sett was found inside or close to the development area then badger surveys would be recommended, similarly if an area of habitat was found which was suitable for use by breeding birds then potentially breeding bird surveys would have to be completed prior to the start of works. Cheshire has a variety of different habitat types which support a range of different species, from woodlands to urban areas. Phase 1 habitat surveys are usually required prior to the start of development work and can save time as any potential issues with protected species or protected habitats will be highlighted early in the development.
United Environmental Services are experienced in a wide range of ecological survey work, contact us for more information.
Tags: bat barn, Bat Conservation Trust, bat roost, bat survey, bats, Cheshire, daubentons bats, Echolocation, european protected species licence, great crested newt, Natural England, phase 1 habitat survey, United Environmental Services, Water vole, whiskered bats, wildlife legislation
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Saturday, May 9th, 2009
UES were commisioned for an extended phase 1 habitat survey of a site north of Porthmadog. The desk study and record search revealed no records on the site, but did have several records of Lesser horseshoe bats within 1km of the site boundary.
The site itself both from the record search and from aerial photography looked fairly unremarkable as it was in a packet of land between a busy road and a railway line and had two distinct habitat types. The western end of site was high ground with lots of exposed rock. The variety of flora present suggested it was a species rich grassland as did the numerous ant mounds made by yellow meadow ants (lasius flavus). Several bird species were heard and seen around the site area including Wheatear, Grasshopper warbler and willow warbler. The eastern half of the site was marshy grassland dominated by soft rush, with an artificial drainage channel cutting through it from north to south. There were no rocks or raised areas in the watercourse and it was very smooth and uniform on the bottom suggesting that it had been quite recently cleared. The water was around 1m deep and running slowly from south to north. Toby checked the watercourse for signs of watervole and was surprised to find several latrines and burrows along the banks of the drain. The sites were recorded with GPS references and photographs. The CCW (Countryside Council for Wales) and local record centre (COFNOD) were notified as was the developer. The water vole is now fully protected under Section 9 of The Wildlife and Countryside act 1981 (as amended) which makes illegal any action which might
- Intentionally kill, injure or take water voles
- posess or control live or dead water voles or their derivatives
- Intentionally or recklessly damage destroy or obstruct access to any structure or place used by water voles
The developer was initially annoyed because of the affect the find would have on the project. But realised that the survey which had taken place very early in the planning stages of the development, had saved the company money in the long run.
The early survey had allowed them to properly assess the cost of the development before the start of work, rather than finding the water voles mid-project, and having to stop work redesign the plans and potentially have damaged or destroyed the habitat of a species which is already in serious decline.
Tags: bat roost, Cheshire, european protected species licence, greater horseshoe bats, lesser horseshoe bat, North Wales, phase 1 habitat survey, pipistrelle bat, Porthmadog, Protected species, United Environmental Services, Water vole
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