An interesting insight into working in JBA’s ecology team – bats, invertebrates, butterflies and irrigation issues!
What are you studying and how do you feel your time at JBA has benefitted you? I am currently in my final year at the University of Suffolk studying BSc (Hons) Wildlife, Ecology and Conservation Science. During my time with James Blake Associates Ltd, I have gained a wide range…
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A Birds Eye View from our ecology team…
This month we are taking a bird’s eye view of our ecology team and track down what they’ve been up to and homing in on and where they really want to be to catch the next wildlife spectacle! Field ecologist at James Blake Associates, Harry Hirst, tells us about the…
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SOS – Save our Skylarks
With a rapid decline in numbers in the UK, James Blake Associates’ latest bird surveys salute this species and offer mitigation schemes to help Save Our Songbirds Spring sees the start of the new ecology seasonal window and a sight to behold is the soaring Skylark and its spectacular song…
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The Butterfly Effect
Rapidly decreasing numbers of butterflies in the UK calls for more protection for the UK’s kaleidoscopes of colour in the countryside Butterflies are important indicators of a healthy ecosystem that can be used to study the impact of habitat loss and climate change. Butterflies in the UK have been closely…
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5 key factors in establishing wildflower in Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems
Here are 5 key components to achieving the right effect: 1. Ensuring an amenity grass margin: Presentation is everything: Imagine if the wild flower meadow went right to the edge: the residents would have complained that someone forgot to mow the grass! The amenity grass strip provides a frame of…
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In answer to a client wanting to know if the shrubs eaten by muntjac deer
In answer to a client wanting to know if the shrubs eaten by muntjac deer, on a development site, was due to these shrubs being too immature on planting. This was as suggested by a resident managing the resident’s Man-Co. This is of course a case of a little knowledge…
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Viper
Viper – I spotted this fine specimen, one of the 3 British species, crossing a coastal path. The snake, which grows to about 30 inches (76cm) long, is common throughout mainland Britain. Their red mouths look scary, and they are our only venomous snakes, but they are not aggressive –…
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Ecology and Arboriculture Surveys – Timing is Key
Ensure you have the right consultant that does what is needed the right way but knows when a survey is needed and when it is not. For example, a client recently asked JBA to check if they needed all the surveys recommended in the PA1 report. We found they did…
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A Rare Sighting
Some of our ecology team recently spotted this rare creature while undertaking monitoring work on a badger sett. There was some question we may have found an erythristic badger – much paler than the typical black and white badger, still with the same markings, but reddish-pink in colour. However, our…
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