Bats get the attention, and they are not the only constraint. Great crested newts, badgers, reptiles, dormice, water voles and nesting birds all carry legal protection, all have their own survey methods, and each has a season that can hold a programme up on its own.
Great crested newts
Surveyed in the spring breeding season, either by visiting ponds within a distance of the site or, increasingly in England, through district level licensing which replaces survey with a payment and a strategic mitigation scheme. Which route suits a site is worth asking about early.
Badgers
Setts are protected as well as the animals. A survey looks for setts and activity on and near the site, and works near an active sett can need a licence and a closed season. Discovery late in a project is expensive.
Reptiles
Surveyed by placing artificial refuges and checking them over a number of visits in suitable weather during the active season. Rough grassland, brownfield and south facing banks are the habitats that most often trigger it.
Dormice, water voles and birds
Dormice are surveyed with nest tubes over a season and are a hedgerow and woodland constraint. Water voles are surveyed along watercourses. Nesting birds constrain vegetation clearance and roof work during the nesting season regardless of any other survey.
Questions people ask about great crested newt survey
Which species surveys will I need?
The preliminary ecological appraisal says. It is written precisely to identify which species the habitats could support and to recommend the surveys that follow.
Can species surveys run in parallel?
Often yes, and an ecologist plans them together. The constraint is that each has its own season and weather conditions.
What is district level licensing for newts?
A scheme in England that lets a developer contribute to strategic habitat creation instead of surveying and mitigating on site. It can be faster and more certain; it is not available everywhere.