Master Set (reptiles, amphibians, mammals)

Common shrew (Sorex araneus)

Dark brown fur with silver fur below

Tiny eyes, small ears pointy nose

Tail half body length

Prefer woodland and grassland

day and night

may hear fighting squeaks in summer over territory

Pygmy shrew (Sorex minutus)

Dark brown fur with silver fur below

Tiny eyes, small ears very long pointy nose

tail 2/3 body

Smaller than common shrew

None in Scilly, Scot, and Orkney

Bank vole (Myodes glareolus)

Chestnut brown, white below

Long tail

Eats hazelnuts and blackberries frequently

Round grassy weaved nests, or burrows

Very active

European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus)

Brown with yellow tipped spines over head and face

Hides under logs, leaves and refugia during day

Droppings 5cm, dark, filled with worms and berries

PRIORITY UK POST 2010 BIODIVERSITY FRAMEWORK

RED LIST FOR BRITISH MAMMALS

Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes)

Orange red abouve, pale below, black ear tips, white tipped orange bushy tail

burrow system scent marked with musty odor

Nocturnal

Dog like droppings 1 pointy end, full of fur feathers or berries, musky smell

WILD MAMMAL PROTECTION ACT 1996

ANIMAL WELFARE ACT 2006

European badger

Large and grey with short bushy tail, black and white face

Live in large family group in sette, latrine nearby

Cubs born Jan, Feb

PROTECTION OF BADGERS ACT 1992

Pine Marten (Martes martes)

Cat sized, brown fur with yellow bib over throat and chest, long bushy tail

Agile climbers, dens in tree cavities / squirrel nests

N + central scot, S scot, S eng rarely

SCHEDULE 5 WCA

Field vole (Microtus agrestis)

Grey brown above, pale grey below

Shaggy shortish tail

Territorial males in breeding season

Day and night

Water vole (Arvicola amphibius)

Brown fur

Small ears and furry tail

Bigger than other voles

Only one found near water, wetland etc

45' grass cuttings near water in piles

Brown Hare (Lepus europaeus)

Golden brown, pale belly, longer legs and ears with black tips

Square face and more lean

No burrows, sleep in depressions

Lives in mosaic habitat

Ball like yellow green droppings

POST 2010 Biodiversity Framework

Red Squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris)

Conifer woods

Red brown, bushy tail, smaller than gray

Scot, N Ire, Lake district

UK POST 201O Biodiversity Framework

Grey squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis)

Introduced

Not tree picky

Silver grey and brownish face and feet

American Mink (Neovison vison)

Small brown black fur, white chin and throat

Dens close to water and territorial

if caught illegal to rerelease

Introduced and invasive

Water shrew (Neomys fodiens)

Black fur, white underneath

Large hind feet, pointy nose

Only shrew found near water

None in Scilly, Scot islands, Isle of Man and N Ire

House Mouse (Mus musculus)

Grey brown

Large ears and small snout

Scaly long tail

Common near people and very widespread

Wood mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus)

Golden brown but pale below

Large eyes, ears and long tail

Browner than house mouse

More common in farm, woods, grassland, less so near people

Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus)

Grey brown, long ears and hind legs

Warrens with waste piles outside, and low runs through grass

Introduced but naturalised

European otter (Lutra lutra)

Large grey brown broad snouted, pale chest and throat

Underground burrows

Require clean rivers with vegetation to hide in

CHSR 2017

Stoat

Orange brown back, white throat and belly

Black tipped tail

Larger than Weasel arches back when moves

APP 3 Bern Converntion 2007

Ireland subspecies also protected

Weasel (Mustela nivalis)

Brown back, white throat and belly

Smaller than stoat and shorter tail with no black tip

Straight backed gait

Red Deer

Rusty red, brown in winter

Highly branched antlers

Native

Moor, woods, and grassland

Roe Deer (Capreolus capreolus)

Brown fur

No visable tail, small antlers

Prefer habitat edges of woodland and grassland

Native

Fallow Deer (Dama dama)

White-spotted brown fur

Moose-style antlers

Medium sized, in deciduous woods

Introduced

Sika Deer (Cervus Nippon)

Found in scottish moors / conifer plantations, and Dorset heaths

Mainly Scotland

Introduced

Muntjac deer (Muntiacus reevesi)

Small deer with pronounced nose pores

Woodland and grassland

Introduced

Small single point antlers

Chinese Water Deer (Hydropotes inermis)

Only deer with visable tusks

Smaller

Lowland reed beds, and arable fens

Introduced

What are the differences between dog and badger fur?

Badger:

- Dense and coarse

- uneven when rolled between fingers

- hair feels bumpy and flips when rolled

Dog:

- soft

- Varied colour

- Often smells

check barbed wire, bramble, branches and rubbing posts

How do you camera trap mammals?

Placement varies, either use grid, random or transects

Mount Knee height, parrellel to ground, north facing, vegetation clear

Make sure metadata is accurate

Check regularly

What legal protections do mammals have?

WCA 1981

CHSR 2017

Protection of Badgers act 1992

Wild Mammals protection act 1996

Hunting act 2004 - no hunting with dogs

Hare Preservation act 1892 - dont sell in breeding season

How many visits are needed in mammal surveys

2-4 good middle ground

Hazel Dormice - footprint tunnels 2/month for 3-5 month

- nest tubes or boxes monthly

Bats - presence 2-3 2 weeks apart

Water Voles - presence 2+ 1 in Apr-Jun 1 Jul-sep

Badgers - field visits 1-2 more if sette

Mice voles and shrew - live trapping 3-5 consecutive nights or mornings

what TOY do you survey mammals

Bats - activity May-Aug hibernation Dec-Feb

Badgers - Nov-Mar can be done year round

Dormice - nut searches Nov-Apr Nest tubes Apr-Oct

Otter - Mar-Sep

Water Vole - Apr-Sep

Mar - Sep or Oct covers most active periods

How do footprint tunnels work

Tunnel with bait

Place masking tape covered with charcoal powder and veg oil

Make sure to place near cover or vegetation

Check daily

How do hair tubes work

Tube with strips of tape inside

baited in fixed internal section

great for welfare but possible bycatch

Check daily

What is the mitigation hierarchy

Avoid - reduce impact, avoid species rich area

Minimise - reduce extent of impact

Mitigate - improve or protect affected area

Compensate - compensate loss to site or species bng credits etc

What are the signs of a badger sette

Neat and tidy

Clean doorway with used bedding made of dry grass

Smelly latrine with feces nearby - dark, sausage shaped, sweet smelling musk

Fresh earth outside

well worm paths neaby

What is BNG how is it met

Defra 2012 legal requirement to increase a sited biodiv by 10% measured with biodiv metric tool in units

Can improve habitats, create new, allocate offsite gains, or buy units

Ecologist pea/phase 1 - losses vs gains - get +10%

Badger mitigation techniques

Avoid isolating badger territory

Avoid artificial light and noise

Retain vegetation, and reduce disturbance around settes

Avoid activity around dusk/dawn

Maintain foraging space, watering areas, hab connectivity

If sette lost make a new one

NO TRANSLOCATION

What is a EIA

Potential impacts of development on environment, species AND social, health etc

For a large scale or important site

Identify effects to mitigate and compensate

EIA Regulations 2017 more details

What is a ECIA

Ecological impact assessment

Just the effect on nature

Otter and Water Vole mitigation

Closure of otter holts at appropriate times

Artifical holt creation

New travel routes under roads etc

Buffer habitat

Sympathetic bank profiles, mammal ledges, reduce light and noises

Translocation and displacement possible - Nat Eng Liscense

What are the signs of animal feeding on hazel nuts

Hazel Dormice - round hole, smooth inner rim

Wood Mice - rough gouges

Bank Vole - round hole prominant tooth gouges

Squirrels and birds - Split

Signs of feeding on bark or bark stripping

Deer - upward stripping

Rabbits and hares - roots exposed

squirrels - high up

Signs of feeding on grass

Field Vole - shredded 1-2 cm along paths

Water Vole - 45' cut stem

rabbit - scissor cut neatly

Deer - ragged and uneven

Signs of predation in species

Fox and Badger - crush bones completely, messy sites

Avian - pluck feathers

Natterjack toad (Epidalea calamita)

- Olive green to brown with central yellow back stripe

- Small and compact

- Rapid walking and running

- Restricted to coastal dune, salt marsh and inland heath ponds

Palmate newt (Lissotriton helveticus)

- Pale and unspotted throat

- Males: needle tail filament

- Beige, olive, or brown body but similar to smooth newt

- Occur at higher altitudes

- None in East Anglia and East Midlands

Smooth newt (Lissotriton vulgaris)

- Beige, olive or brown body similar to Palmate Newt

- Spots on underside of throat

- Male: undulating smooth crest

- Common in garden ponds and most widespread

Great Crested Newt (Triturus cristatus)

- Largest british newt

- Bumpy brown / black skin

- Yellow to orange belly with spots

- Male: jagged crest, smoother on tail

-- and iridescent flash on tail

- Occur rarer and in larger ponds

Common toad (Bufo bufo)

- Drier and bumpier skin

- Rounded shape

- Walks or hops

- Grey, brown or reddish skin with a white underside

- Copper eyes

- Occurs in deep ponds and lakes but spends more time on land

Common frog (Rana temporaria)

- Smooth moist skin

- Moves in short jumps

- Longer hind legs than toads

- Dark mask behind eyes

- Variable colour

- Occurs in countryside and urban ponds

What non-native amphibians are present in the uk?

- Marsh frog

- Pool frog

- Edible frog

Pool frog (Pelophylax lessonae)

- One native population in East Anglia site

- Brown or green

- Has dark splotches and yellow dorsal line

- Not bumpy

What are the key threats to amphibian species?

- Habitat loss

- Habitat fragmentation

- Pollution

- Chytrid fungus and invasives

What liscense is required to survey GCN?

- Natural England mitigation liscense (European protected species liscense)

- Applied for by ecologist on behalf of developer when GCN evidence found

- For any unavoidable activity likely to affect GCN pr their habitats

What is the HSI?

- Determines the suitability of the habitat for GCN

- Used in addition to surveys

- Scale of 0-1 higher scores are more likely to support GCN

- Some example factors:

-- Geographical location

-- Pond area

-- Pond permanence or water quality

How do you tell amphibian eggs apart?

- Frogs: dense unordered clump

- Newt: hidden in folded leaf, gcn is yellower

- Toad: 2 long strings of eggs

- Natterjack: 1 string of eggs

When is the best toy to survey amphibians?

- Breeding season Mar-May

- Early spring feb-mar: grog and toad spawn

- Summer-early autumn Jun-Sep: Juveniles and adults

- warmer and milder evenings above 5' with low wind

How do you survey for GCN and other amphibians?

- HSI (aka refugia searches) - how likely a GCN is present

- EDNA sampling collected later from Apr-Jun

- Common survey methods:

-- Torching at night along waters edge

-- Bottle trapping with newt traps (need liscense)

-- Netting around margins and egg searching margins

What are the signs of GCN presence?

- Direct evidence of presence

- eggs or folded leaves with eggs

- GCN larvae (orange spotted gills, long toes, dark blotchy skin and tail filament)

- habitat suitability:

-- terrestrial refuges

-- water body within 500 m

-- no fish presence

What amphibians are protected in the UK?

- GCN: Schedule 5 WCA 1981, CHSR 2017, UK BAP

- Natterjack: Schedule 5 WCA 1981

-WCA partially protects common toad and frog

- if in captivity protected under animal wefare act 2006

What happens in a GCN survey?

- 1: HSI calculation

- 2: Presence/absence:

-- EDNA 1 visit Mid apr-Jun

-- Traditional (torch, bottle,egg searching) Mid Mar-Mid Jun 4 visits

- 3: Population size estimates = +2 visits (Bottle trapping and Torchlight counts)

- 4: Report compiled

- Mitigation and licensing

What mitigations can be put in place for amphibians?

- Protecting individuals caught

- Maintaining habitat:

-- New fish free ponds

-- Restoring existing ponds or habitat cover

-- Planting hedgerow

-- Artificial hibernacula

Common lizard (Zootoca vivipara)

- Mostly green or brown but can be black, grey, blue or yellow

- can have light or dark fine markings

- females have striped appearance

- Males have dark spots on stomach

- Distinctly pointed snout

- Heath and grassland but declining

Slow Worm

(Anguis Fragilis)

- Cylindrical hard and smooth

- Shiny metallic appearance

- In young and females silver or gold with brown or black sides and dark stripe or zigzag on back

- In males more evenly creme coloured

Sand lizard (Lacerta agilis)

- Stockier and longer than common lizard

- Grey beige or brown with brown or black spots, pale center

- Males have green underside in breeding season

- Females grey to yellow underside

- Head less pointed more bulky

- Rare only sand heaths and dunes

Grass snake (Natrix natrix)

- Longest British snake

- Variable colour and pattern olive green to brown

- Distinctive yellow to orange red collar

- Regular black side markings

- Strongly associated with water and can swim

- None in N Eng, Scot, and Ireland

Smooth snake (Coronella austriaca)

- Slim snake smallest of uk

- grey to brown

- Dark heart shaped markings on top

- Dark stripe from nose to eye and then side of head

- Underside colour can vary

- Scales with no keel

Adder (Vipera berus)

- Short and stocky

- Central zigzag along back

- In females pale brown to red and brown zigzag

- In males lighter grey to white and beige and dark zigzag

What habitat are each reptile species most likely found

- All species need sunny patchy habitat

- Heathland: All species

- Grassland / Scrub: Slow worm and common Lizard

- Woodland edges: Adder

- Urban fringe and garden: Slow worm, Common Lizard

- Wet habitats: Grass Snake

What are the best conditions to survey reptiles

- April may and september peak activity - Mar to Oct

- Sunny dry and calm 9' to 20'

- 9 to 11 AM or 4 to 6 PM

Which reptiles are protected

- All protected under WCA 1981

- Smooth snake and sand lizard CSHR 2019

--> Only handled by liscensed ecologists

What environmental signs are there for reptiles

- Fleeting rustles

- Basking sites and patchy grassland

- Shed snake and lizard sloughs

How can you identify reptile sloughs?

- Grass Snake: long, large head scales, dark collar

- Adder: zigzag and heavily keeled

- Smooth Snake: no keels

- Slow worm: rare small ripped or folded skin

What is the reptile survey process

- PEA to establish species presence

- Phase 1 of habitat and area, and look at past records

- phase 2 refugia placed in hotspots identified in phase 1 (apr-sep)

- then mitigation

- 5-7 visits but leave refugia for 14 days after placement

Where are reptiles found in the uk

- Common Lizard: Nationwide

- Slow worm: Common across England, Wales, and Scotland

- Grass Snake: Lowlands of England and Wales

- Adder: Southern England and Wales

- Sand Lizard: Scarce. Specific coastal sand dunes in Southern England and Wales

- Smooth Snake: Dorset, Devon, Hampshire, Surrey. rare

How do you set up a refugia survey

- Placed in hotspots - shelter nearby, and sun trap

- South facing and sunny areas

- Place on grass or low vegetation to increase humidity

- 10 or more refugia per hectare

check above and around from distance

approach slowely and carefully

lift from corner

replace and retreat

What mitigation techniques are used for reptiles

- key habitat and location features kept - eg, ponds, course grass

- if a small reptile progressive slow cutting of grass, scaring reptiles to adjacent area plus reptile proof fencing

- section of areas placing refugia and moving individuals

- Create patchy grassland, south facing slopes, new ponds, rotting veg as egg laying sites, artificial hibernacula