Background
Ecological consultants carry out wildlife surveys and assessments in relation to development and construction projects. Best practice survey and mitigation guidelines exist for many protected species. However, no consolidated best practice guidance exists for ornithological impact assessment. A common, standard approach is necessary to provide consistency for developers, planning officers and consultants as to when impact assessment is needed and how it should be carried out.
Scope of services
A Steering Group was established by Tim Hounsome of RSK Biocensus to develop guidelines for ornithological impact assessment.
The Steering Group was comprised of professional consultants and relevant professional bodies including the Chartered Institute of Ecologists and Environmental Managers and the British Trust for Ornithology. It sought to address questions such as:
- How often should you survey a site in a season?
- Over what period of the year should surveys happen?
- Should surveys cover more than one season
- What time of the day should surveys take place?
- Do you need to survey more area than just the site?
- Who should do the surveys, and how do you know they are suitably qualified?
- How do you assess the importance of the site in the context of its location?
The Steering Group reviewed existing guidance and evidence and published its initial breeding bird survey guidelines in 2021. These covered the timing and methodology for surveys, the skills and experience a surveyor should have, and provided a data search tool to estimate the species which are likely to be present on a site given its location.
The guidelines are published online to provide a flexible framework for their development and evolution, as evidence gaps are addressed.
Impact
These guidelines are intended for use by ornithologists and ecological consultants who carry out bird surveys for assessing ecological impacts, and for use in Ecological Impact Assessments.