Protected Species Surveys

Protected species surveys are species-specific methods carried out to a recognised standard, in a defined season, to establish presence or likely absence — and where a species is present, to understand how it uses the site.

The results inform the design of a scheme, the mitigation required, and whether a licence will be needed before works can begin.

• Bats — roost assessment, emergence and re-entry surveys, activity transects. See bat surveys
• Great crested newts — habitat suitability assessment, eDNA sampling, presence/absence and population class surveys
• Reptiles — refugia surveys for grass snake, slow-worm, common lizard and adder
• Dormice — nest tube and nest box surveys
• Badgers — sett surveys and activity assessment
• Breeding birds — territory mapping and nesting bird checks
• Otter and water vole — riparian habitat surveys

Licence detail to add: which of these Joshua carries out under his own survey licences, and which are delivered with named sub-consultants.

Method depends entirely on the species. Some surveys are a single daytime visit; others require repeat visits across a season, at specific times of day, in specific weather conditions.

Where a survey requires several visits, the schedule is agreed at the outset so it can be planned against the programme rather than discovered halfway through.

• A survey report setting out method, conditions, results and constraints
• An assessment of the effects of the proposal on the species recorded
• Mitigation and compensation recommendations proportionate to those effects
• Where relevant, advice on whether a European Protected Species licence is likely to be required

This is the part of the process most likely to affect a programme. Survey seasons are narrow and non-negotiable, and a missed window can mean waiting a year.

The ecological survey calendar sets out the optimal periods for the main survey types. If a project is time-critical, get the appraisal done early enough to catch the right season.

Legal protection and licensing are matters of law and of Natural England policy. Bhela Ecology advises on the ecology; where a proposal has legal implications, that advice is given in writing and specific to the site.