Baker Consultants Ltd

It’s the silly season; dusk and dawn surveys, torchlight surveys of ponds, and bottle trapping. Some would say that this is why we do the job, being out in the field, seeing amazing sunrises, and beautiful landscapes. We say that too!

In May and June, Baker Consultants ecologists have conducted 63 site surveys.

The sleep deprivation is compensated by the wide range of interesting projects that we now have underway. Even after a crazy May and June, we still want to work with each other, and love coming back to our quirky station office to spot trains (Paul!).

We’ll try to keep you all updated with any exciting finds or developments and when things calm down a bit, we might just publish our list of favoured eating and drinking establishments for ecologists too!

If you want to contact one of us try the skype number 0114 360 2969 or drop us an email.

Trees and woodland are essential for the UK populations of bats. Woodland provides shelter and foraging habitats for bats, but perhaps the most significant use of trees by bats is as roosts. Most species in the UK will roost in trees, and some species rely exclusively on trees for roost sites. The legal protection afforded to bats and their roosts is strict and local authorities or the competent authority often require the likelihood of roosts being present to be considered before undertaking tree works. Tree works on development sites can have permanent or long-term impacts and national good practise survey guidelines (published by the Bat Conservation Trust) states, “where this type of work could impact on bats, it is essential that trees on and around the site are assessed comprehensively”.

Assessing trees for bat roosts can require considerable effort because the features that bats use can often be small, high in the canopy of the tree and obscured by foliage. That’s great for predator avoidance, but presents ecologists with difficulties when surveying. There are several methods to survey trees and the level of survey is somewhat dependent on the value of the habitat for bats and the extent of the impacts.

Hugh Dixon, consultant ecologist at Capita Symons said: “A climb and inspect survey by Baker Consultants in March enabled us to identify a tree roost at an early stage of our development. We subsequently applied for an EPS licence and were able to fell the tree without causing delay to the programme of works. This saved money on the project and proved to be an effective method of surveying."

At Baker Consultants we have bat ecologists that are Lantra qualified tree climbers. Tree climbing using roped access is an advanced survey technique that allows us to climb-and-inspect trees to check for cavities and inspect them with an endoscope or mirrors. This has great advantages as it allows a detailed inspection of trees to be carried out cost effectively. Close inspection of tree cavities enables the surveyor to identify the presence of bats and evidence that may indicate previous occupancy by bats. It also allows the surveyor to assess the potential of a roost with greater confidence.

Due to the legal protection afforded to bat roosts it is important to minimise the risk of damaging or destroying a roost. If a tree roost is damaged, it is important that consultants and their clients are able to demonstrate that good practise was followed. At Baker Consultants we have a team of experienced bat ecologists that will be able to advise you on the appropriate level of assessment of the trees at your site. We can put together a survey programme based on your requirements.

Removal of trees as part of a planned development often requires mitigation and is likely to require trees to be recorded individually. Tree climbing is a cost-effective and efficient way to accurately record actual and likely bat roosts. We often work alongside arboriculturalists during tree works, climbing and inspecting the trees immediately prior to the trees being felled.

If you have trees on your development site that may need an assessment, contact Anton at a.kattan@bakerconsultants.co.uk.

Get our tree-climbers up there before they get leaves on (the trees that is)!

Anton writes:

At the end of November 2009 I was thrilled to see an article in the Daily Telegraph about the success of a cycle path in Tewkesbury, a scheme that I worked on between 2001-2003. The scheme began over 15 years ago as a proposed relief road for Tewkesbury, but came up against public opposition and to date has not been built.

Locals (and Friends of the Earth) objected to the road, which would impact an old railway line that is a local wildlife site and home to a large glow worm colony. Gloucester County Council subsequently decided to provide a cycle path along the old railway line. The first phase of the cycle path scheme commenced in 2002, along a section of the route known as Northway Lane to Gannaway Lane. I was lead ecologist for this phase of the work and implemented mitigation for glow worms, which included turf translocations from core areas of the colony and design of glow worm 'friendly' lighting. This includes switching off the path lighting at 11pm each night. The cylcing press seem to have picked up on this story too! Read the Bike Radar article here. Wouldn't our night skies be amazing, if all street lighting operated in this way.

The mitigation strategy was the result of a 10 year study led by Dr. Paul Smith, who originally prepared a glow worm translocation proposal for the proposed relief road. Dr Paul Smith's web site can be found here: www.botanicalinvestigations.co.uk

Watch this space for more on glow worms

Read the Daily Telegraph article here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/6692922/Glow-worm-friendly-cycle-path.html