Small bat scoping survey - Mull - anyone?

[JLA1990]

This thread brings a phrase to

mind “You really don’t know what you don’t know”

[AHPP]

Enlighten us. 

[JLA1990]

Id be happy to, my ecological rate is £60ph feel free to message me. 

[AHPP]

Come now. Play along a bit. You're a batman. Advocate for your people. 

 

Unless your approach is just, "I'm not interested in your gay ideas of right and wrong. That's the way it is. £60ph."

In which case you've rather proved my point.

[doobin]

21 hours ago, daltontrees said:

I don't see a problem with the system, but I perceive ecologists as doing well out of the mystery of it all and generally taking an unduly precautionary position. It's hard to challenge because they just fall back on scaremongering about legislation, their professional duty, their insurer's requirements and the Bat Conservation Trust guidance (which is thorough but not pragmatic).

That’s exactly how I see it, but you put it far more eloquently than me. 
 

Birders can be just as bad. Anywhere there is blanket legislation it becomes a game of top trumps, and associated ‘professional costs’
 

Take bracken control- only way is mechanical these days, and to be fair has been for a while on a lot of my work due to the landowners wishing to stay organic. That means three cuts throughout the growing season if you want to put it into remission. Trouble is, a nature reserve will normally be a a matrix of different habitats, including scrub. So there might be ground nesting things around. It’s probably only be a pheasant, but it might also be a nightjar. 
 

So on one hand you’ve got the birders kicking off about that. But on the other hand, the habitat in question is the last refuge of a red list insect in the UK. And if you don’t control the bracken, it goes extinct. But birders can claim top trumps- it’s an absolute offence to disturb any nesting bird. 
 

If it wasn’t for volunteer ornithologists and conservationists who tick the survey box each time we cut, either the work to save a species from extinction wouldn’t get done, or ‘professionals’ would be have to be engaged on the taxpayers pound. Charging more for strolling about with a clipboard than a contractor does for providing £60k of machinery. 
 

 

I like the suggestion about using AI and a camera to count and identify bats. Something like that is needed to bring down costs if we as a society decide that bats are worthy of such veneration. 
 

Don’t think I’m bashing conservation- it’s a mainstay of my work. The issue is the same as in many industries- gatekeeping and associated high costs being forced upon the rest of society by ill thought out legislation. 
 

Whilst I’m at it- badgers. Should be on the general license. No shortage of the bastards, and if we really care about ground nesting birds they are a major source of predation. By all means make it a capital offence to engage in badger baiting- but if we can control foxes then why are badgers any different? 

[openspaceman]

34 minutes ago, doobin said:

Take bracken control- only way is mechanical these days, and to be fair has been for a while on a lot of my work due to the landowners wishing to stay organic. That means three cuts throughout the growing season if you want to put it into remission. Trouble is, a nature reserve will normally be a a matrix of different habitats, including scrub. So there might be ground nesting things around. It’s probably only be a pheasant, but it might also be a nightjar. 
 

So on one hand you’ve got the birders kicking off about that. But on the other hand, the habitat in question is the last refuge of a red list insect in the UK. And if you don’t control the bracken, it goes extinct. But birders can claim top trumps- it’s an absolute offence to disturb any nesting bird. 
 

I agree, although I do a small patch by cutting daily, by hand, it has given the tussock grass  and two heathers a chance to re establish. Once I no longer control the bracken it will take over again as the rise in fertility will favour it over heathland. We have a large area of original heath but as grazing largely ceased 200 years ago and the increased fertility has favoured an increase in bracken such that it covers a high percentage of the area. Take the council owned common cut by the A3 where they have built a much vaunted heathland bridge. Because of bird nesting worries no work is done in summer and bracken covers 50% of the western side and increases by nearly 3 metres each year. Nothing of concern nests in bracken and frequent cut and collect could begin to address the fertility and alelopathic nature of bracken litter.

34 minutes ago, doobin said:

Whilst I’m at it- badgers. Should be on the general license. No shortage of the bastards, and if we really care about ground nesting birds they are a major source of predation. By all means make it a capital offence to engage in badger baiting- but if we can control foxes then why are badgers any different? 

Well yes but hanging people for it seems a bit extreme.

[AHPP]

Thought so.