Bird Surveys
Why might I need this?
In the UK, all wild birds, their nests and eggs are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended) making it an offence to intentionally kill, injure or take them or damage nests in use or being built. Developers must adhere to the mitigation hierarchy of avoid, mitigate, compensate. If there is potential for development to disturb wild birds then surveys may be necessary before development can proceed.
Survey calendar
There are a number of different bird surveys that might be required including - breeding bird surveys from mid-March to early July, nesting bird surveys between March and August and wintering bird surveys between October and March.
What does it entail?
Breeding bird surveys require site visits early in the morning, approximately 30 minutes before sunrise. Usually two visits per season will be required, one in early spring (April to mid-May) and one in late spring (mid-May to June). Various methods may be employed including line transects, point counts or mapping depending on the site.
Nesting bird checks are required when vegetation, buildings or other structures are thoroughly checked for active nests by a qualified ecologist prior to vegetation clearance or demolition. Sites are observed for signs of nesting activity, walked over and inspected by hand.
Did you know?
The nests of long-tailed tits are a masterpiece which take three weeks to construct. The males and females work on construction as a team. They weave an oval-shaped ball from moss with a small entrance at the top. This is camouflaged with lichen and lined with as many as 1500 tiny down feathers bound together with spider silk.