The Importance of Winter Bird Surveys

The Importance of Winter Bird Surveys

The Importance of Winter Bird Surveys
8 September 2023

Every autumn we see the arrival of many thousands of ducks, geese, swans and waders; north-west England is an attractive proposition with its extensive coastline, rich seas, and intertidal and grassland feeding grounds.

The Ribble Estuary, Morecombe Bay and the Dee Estuary are all within the top-four UK sites by population for non-breeding waterbirds.

Whooper Swan – Cygnus cygnus (WCA1, BAm)

The mighty whooper swan, only rivalled in size by its more sedentary cousin the mute swan, is a magnificent bird. The UK provides a winter home for internationally significant numbers of these birds and those numbers are happily increasing. This is in no small part down to the efforts of reserves throughout the region and the good practice of environmental consultancies like TEP.

Whooper swans need space. They need clear sightlines across large fields in order to feel secure when feeding on agricultural land. The vicinity of roads, footpaths, aerial obstacles and the presence of livestock are also important considerations when ascertaining the suitability of sites for this species.

Golden Plover – Pluvialis acricaria

A handsome bird of remote moorland in the summer months,-autumn sees golden plover migrate to lower altitudes and gather in dense flocks. It is therefore on farmland and some coastal areas that peoplecome across numbers of this species, still resplendent in their winter plumage. They often appear nervous on the ground, standing upright and alert. Golden plover fly high in oval flocks and readily associate with the more familiar lapwing.

TEP Ornithologists are here to help!

Disturbance caused to birds can negatively affect their overwintering and breeding success as they use precious energy to take flight more often. This can be minimised by better understanding their interactions with a site. The early autumn is the right time to commence winter bird surveys to inform projects. Such surveys are often an essential requirement for projects covering large areas of open agricultural land. Species like the whooper swan and especially golden plover can make daily feeding flights of up to 20km from their protected coastal sites, of which there are many on the Northwest coastline. Therefore, it is essential not to overlook winter bird surveys at this time of year.

TEP has a dedicated team of ornithologists that can review your project requirements and provide advice on the potential requirement for the design and undertaking of winter bird surveys. Please contact Principal Ecologist Tim Ross ( timross@tep.uk.com ) for more information.

-Tobie Wharton, Consultant Ecologist

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Bringing the world of books to life for blind or visually impaired children
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Delivering major infrastructure in sensitive environments requires a coordinated approach, bringing together a range of expertise to understand place, manage risk and support informed decision-making. Our work on the North Hykeham Relief Road (NHRR) in Lincolnshire is a strong example of this in practice, with teams from across TEP working together to support the delivery of this long-planned scheme. A long-planned piece of infrastructure The NHRR forms the final section of Lincoln’s ring road, a scheme that has been identified in Local Plans for around twenty years. As the project progressed, it required careful consideration of environmental constraints, historic assets and landscape character, alongside the practicalities of delivering a major new road. Working alongside Balfour Beatty and the wider project team, we provided a range of services spanning heritage and archaeology, planning, landscape, ecology and arboriculture. A coordinated programme of assessment and support underpinned the development of the scheme. Our Historic Environment team established the baseline through desk-based assessment, consultation and phased archaeological evaluation. This work identified areas of interest including sites of prehistoric activity, the important Roman road of Ermine Street, and a potential Roman villa complex, providing valuable insight into the long-term history of the site. These findings directly informed the design process, helping to shape the scheme in response to the site’s archaeological and historical context. The team also assessed potential impacts on sensitive heritage assets, including listed buildings and conservation areas, ensuring that the historic environment was fully considered as the project evolved.
21 April 2026
Bringing the world of books to life for blind or visually impaired children
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TEP is proud to be partnered with the award-winning initiative Time for Geograph y, whic h showcases the importance of geography and the diverse careers it can lead to. Time for Geography is a free, online education platform reaching schools and universities across the UK. Through a series of engaging video resources, it brings geography to life in the classroom, connecting academic learning with real-world challenges such as sustainability, climate change, urban planning and environmental management. Our contribution to the initiative forms part of the platform’s Careers Collection, where our team shares insight into the varied and rewarding pathways geography can open up. These resources are designed to help students understand how their studies translate into professional roles, offering a clearer view of the opportunities available within the environmental sector. We’re delighted that this collaboration has been recognised with a Highly Commended Geographical Association Publishers Award , which celebrates the careers-focused videos and resources developed to guide students towards further education and careers in our industry. With an audience of over 2.5 million this year, Time for Geography is a powerful example of how education and industry can come together to inspire future talent, showing how a subject studied in the classroom can lead to meaningful, real-world careers. For many of our colleagues at TEP, that journey began with a simple interest in geography at school. Today, that interest has grown into careers spanning ecology, arboriculture, heritage, planning, landscape design and environmental management. By sharing these experiences, we hope to encourage the next generation to see geography not only as a fascinating subject, but as a pathway into work that makes a tangible difference. We’re proud to support an initiative that is helping shape the future talent pipeline for our sector, and to inspire the environmental specialists of tomorrow. Learn more and watch our video: