Survey season with the Wild Trainees

With the survey season in full swing, Ruby gives an insight into how the Wild Trainees have been helping monitor wildlife from spring into summer.

Over the last few months, alongside the typical land management tasks, the Wild Trainees have had the opportunity to get involved with wildlife monitoring. Ecological surveying is vital for conservation, giving an important indication into the status of various species and habitats. The data gathered is very important to assess populations and distribution, as well as helping to tailor our approach to manage that land for wildlife. To help contribute to ecological monitoring within Gloucestershire, we’ve had the opportunity to help with survey preparation as well as receiving training on different species and habitats ready for the survey season.

Reptile surveying

At the start of March, we began preparing for the reptile surveying season, the optimal time for surveying individuals emerging from hibernation seeking areas to bask. The UK is home to six native reptile species all protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981, with Gloucestershire’s reserves no exception for hosting a number of these species. Standard practice for surveying reptiles is to place artificial refugia along a pre-determined survey route or map, typically made from a thin sheet of corrugated metal or felt, acting as both a refuge and a basking spot.

We placed these refuges known as ‘reptile tins’ around Crickley Hill in areas reptiles are typically found, such as the adder habitat we helped manage over winter, and south facing slopes on the hill. If you see these reptile tins while out and about, make sure you view them at a reasonable distance and do not move them from where they have been placed unless you have received prior permission to survey. This ensures any sheltering or basking reptiles are not unnecessarily disturbed or put at risk.

During a sunny March afternoon on our Kilkenny reserve, we were lucky enough to see three common lizards, a slow worm and an adder, all utilising existing artificial refugia placed there, indicating management at this particular site is successfully supporting these species.

Dormouse monitoring

During April, the trainees were given the opportunity to work with licensed surveyors to take part in hazel dormouse monitoring, learning about their ecology, conservation, and appropriate surveying techniques. Hazel dormice are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981, due to severe declines in both numbers and distribution, attributed to climate change, altered habitat management and fragmentation. The presence of dormice can be determined by looking for key indicative signs, such as gnawed hazelnuts, where the dormouse’s distinctive teeth marks leave behind a round hole with smooth edge, different from other rodents. Nest boxes are useful for long-term monitoring, with boxes checked by placing a small piece of fabric acting as a plug to cover the entrance hole, followed by carefully lifting the lid.

Dormouse in torpor (c) Ruby Gabb — *A sleepy hazel dormouse in a state of torpor © Ruby Gabb*

Dormouse curled up in torpor (c) Ruby Gabb — *One of the dormice we found during surveying curled up into a tight ball to conserve energy © Ruby Gabb*

By the end of our morning spent surveying we found two adult male dormice, both in a state of torpor, making it easy to handle them to record their sex, weight and age.

Torpor is a state similar to hibernation, where they will curl up when conditions become unfavourable in order to conserve energy, such as when it is cold, wet or when food is scarce. Under supervision of licensed surveyors, we were given the opportunity to hold the two dormice which was an amazing experience!

Dormice prefer semi-natural woodland, managed with both rotational coppicing and maintenance of a diverse shrub layer of vegetation. Areas that are suitable for them often go hand in hand with diverse plant and animal species, therefore monitoring this endearing species could help provide an indication of how birds, insects and bats utilising similar habitat are faring with current management strategies.

Woodland (c) Ruby Gabb — *Habitat conditions ideal for dormice, composed of coppiced trees with a rich shrub layer and a mixture of both young and older trees to provide diversity © Ruby Gabb*

Duke of Burgundy eggs (c) Ruby Gabb — *A clutch of three eggs laid by a Duke of Burgundy butterfly on the underside of a cowslip leaf © Ruby Gabb*

Butterfly surveying

More recently, we’ve been trained for butterfly surveying for species like the Duke of Burgundy: a butterfly threatened due to scrub encroachment through ineffective site management. They’re of particular conservation concern, regarded as a Priority Species in the UK Biodiversity Action Plan. Our recent training educated us on species identification of all life stages, from egg to adult, as well as key feeding signs found on its larval food plant, the cowslip, indicating its presence. Feeding damage by a Duke of Burgundy caterpillar is distinctive due to small holes or panels created by leaving behind the veins on cowslip and primrose leaves.

Marbled white butterflies (c) Ruby Gabb — *A pair of marbled white butterflies observed during surveying © Ruby Gabb*

Monitoring butterflies generally involves walking across a pre-determined survey area and recording feeding signs and numbers of individual adults, caterpillars or eggs seen along the route.

During our training and surveying, we observed both feeding signs and caterpillar presence, but also a variety of other butterfly species such as small blues, marbled whites, skippers, and moth species, such as the striking six-spot burnet.

Dingy skipper (c) Ruby Gabb — *This dingy skipper is a species often mistaken for a Duke of Burgundy, observed during our butterfly survey training © Ruby Gabb*

Effective land management is essential for the maintenance and recovery of the species in the area, with scrub control of grassland areas and coppicing in woodland habitats required to create optimal conditions. Reserves like Kilkenny and Brassey, a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), are a few of the remaining sites in the Cotswolds still supporting this species, so it is particularly rewarding to see how our work undertaken during the winter months is helping support rare species such as these.

Butterfly survey grassland — One of the areas of land surveyed for Duke of Burgundy butterflies located near Bourton on the Water. Sites supporting their foodplant combined with tussocky grassland and some scrubland is the ideal habitat for this species to thrive © Ruby Gabb

HabiMap

Another form of monitoring we’ve helped with recently is HabiMap: a citizen science programme surveying Gloucestershire’s habitats and classifying them according to the plant species they support and checking the accuracy of existing habitat records. The training we’ve been given over the course of being a Wild Trainee has given us the skills to correctly classify the areas being surveyed, especially important since Gloucestershire is home to a wide range of different habitat types.

We recently received training on grassland habitats, familiarising ourselves with key indicator species such as Yorkshire fog, bird’s foot trefoil and yellow-rattle, becoming more abundant as spring moves into summer.

Bird's foot trefoil — *Bird’s foot trefoil, a common plant found on grasslands across the county © Ruby Gabb*

Common spotted-orchid (c) Ruby Gabb — *The common spotted-orchid, with its pink and white flowers, seen this time of year in a range of different habitat types © Ruby Gabb*

At the beginning of June, we helped with the GWT nature reserve condition monitoring, where existing wildlife reserves are surveyed using grid square mapping. The data collected is then used to monitor management of specific reserves. This month we evaluated woodland habitat at Brassey, making note of plant species as well as assessing the ecological integrity of the site, recording canopy cover, tree growth stages and signs of deer or squirrel impact to give an overall indication of the condition of habitat.

Not only was it rewarding to be gathering data essential for informing management of the site, but it was lovely seeing the wildlife present, with orchids starting to emerge this time of year, as well as some inquisitive roe deer spotted. Without volunteers, monitoring at this scale just wouldn’t be possible – I highly recommend getting involved if you have the time to spare!

Spending time outside in nature with my fellow Trainees and having the opportunity to see such a variety of species and habitats is something I really value about the traineeship, and I’m looking forward to seeing all the other wildlife Gloucestershire has to offer over the rest of the summer.