We worked with Bam Nuttall and Network rail ahead of works at Moy south of Inverness to replace a rail bridge ahead of the A9 dualling during 2020-21. This project had a long lead in time with pre-construction surveys conducted by our field ecologists and licensing put in place ahead of felling and construction. The recent completion of the project https://lnkd.in/eQ73xjJC provides some impressive footage of the installation of the bridge during a rail closure.
Compensation red squirrel boxes were installed in the adjacent woodland as the area is part of a Red squirrel stronghold of Daviot Loch Moy. This is one of 12 priority areas identified in the north of Scotland. https://forestry.gov.scot/publications/21-map-of-red-squirrel-stronghold-areas.
By providing aerial inspection of trees we are able to gather the best possible information ahead of works and avoid potentially expensive delays in programme. This proved invaluable recently on inspection of a rock face identified for netting were we located a Soprano pipistrelle bat roost within a crevice high up on the face late in the season.
Bat activity surveys have their place but in a situation with many 100s of metres of rock face and a short window of time they can be impractical.
