Meanwhile, in the Norfolk office…

Along a similar vein to our colleagues in the Shropshire office, 2020 was a demanding year, in every sense of the word! Work levels only dipped very briefly in mid-summer as the effects of the pandemic kicked in, otherwise we were busier than ever! 

Our international links continued to grow as we worked with clients from Greece on population dynamics of waterbirds and gamebirds, and from Cambodia on a major infrastructure project in relation to threatened bird species, amongst others. 

Closer to home we conducted bat surveys (including Preliminary Roost Assessments, Preliminary Ground Level Inspections (of trees), tree-climbing surveys and nocturnal surveys (including emergence/return to roosts surveys, static monitoring and walked transects), for a large number of projects. Richard (our lead ecologist in Norfolk) is a Registered Consultant under the Natural England Bat Mitigation Class Licence (BMCL) scheme, which enables a streamlined process for licencing when bat roosts of low conservation significance have been found. Richard registered a number of sites for clients under the BMCL in 2020. 

We also conducted many Preliminary Ecological Appraisals (PEA) and Extended Phase 1 Habitat Surveys (EP1HS) for our expanding client base, whom we are proud to support with rapid turnaround times, excellent value for money and high quality work.  

We also conducted non-invasive camera-trapping surveys at a number of sites. With a large number of cameras in stock we are perfectly placed to offer large-scale and long-term monitoring, or intensive short-term projects.

Disappointingly, our 2020 research expedition to Morocco was sadly cut off in its prime as the pandemic really kicked off, we hope to get back there at some point soon!