Ornithology

TNEI’s integrated ornithological consultancy service now extends from initial desk top assessments through to full Ecological Impact Assessments (EcIA) with the preparation of ornithology chapters for Environmental Statements, as well as producing reports suitable to support planning applications.

TNEI has extensive experience of undertaking the full range of ornithological surveys, with all of TNEI’s ecology team being full members of the Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (IEEM).

The ornithology team’s newly enhanced services have been widely used for a diverse range of projects including appropriate assessments of SPAs and SSSIs, a large number of wind farm developments, several power lines and a number of gravel extraction, opencast coal, flood defence, road and housing sites. Members of the team have worked on projects for local authorities, Government bodies, charities and multi-national corporations.

The ornithology team has expertise in providing:

• Desk-based ornithological studies and consultation;
• Ornithological risk assessments to scope out potential issues at a site;
• Breeding bird surveys, in both lowland and upland habitats;
• Species-specific breeding surveys for scarce or vulnerable species, such as raptors, owls, Black Grouse and waterfowl;
• Winter walkover and wildfowl/wetland surveys;
• Species-specific non-breeding surveys, for instance for wildfowl, waders, raptors etc;
• Vantage point or flight activity surveys;
• Environmental Statement ornithological chapters for major developments;
• Environmental Statement ornithological technical appendices;
• Reports to inform appropriate assessments of Special Protection Areas (SPAs) and Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs);
• Reports suitable to support planning applications, as well as method statements and management plans for both development and conservation works;
• Public inquiry expert witness.

As well as offering the above suite of surveys, reports and documents for full Environmental Impact Assessments, the team has extensive experience of producing mitigation strategies, method statements and management plans where required. TNEI also undertakes detailed reviews of ornithological impact assessment chapters and reports.