ABOUT US
Established in 1994, we are a specialist international consulting firm based in Cumbria, with surveyors across the country. Our expertise in birds and ecological surveys has led to us being the first choice with many larger consulting companies; when they have problems their in-house staff cannot tackle.
Our friendly, flexible style means that most clients enjoy working with us for many years.
Our extensive practical experience allows us to advise clients on the feasibility of innovative projects and saves several clients from re-inventing the wheel. Our knowledge of what is needed to satisfy the regulatory bodies means we can design surveys, assessments and applications in the most cost-effective way possible.
“Our business is built on personal relationships with our customers, many of whom have become friends over the years.
Part of our dedication to this approach is the informal advice we offer. Our customers know they can call us anytime for a chat and avoid costly mistakes by taking early guidance. If you have anything you'd like to discuss, even if it is at the most basic development level, call us for free advice. We only charge when we have agreed with the client that we are to be a part of the project team"
Claire McCaul - Principal Ecologist
OUR STAFF
Dr Roy Armstrong
Technical Director
Bird Brain! Expert ornithologist who advises industry and conservation bodies on bird issues. Consultant to several international airports on Birdstrike risk assessment/mitigation, as well as planning issues regarding birds (both the conservation issues and the air safety angle).
Ecological surveys - over 20 years experience surveying and preparing mitigation plans for key groups including amphibians, mammals, plants and insects.
Reserve design. Responsible for the design of the largest brownfield to nature reserve project in Europe as well as a large reserve in NE England which provided the mitigation to allow a major development on Tees-side.
Claire McCaul
Principle Ecologist
A highly-experienced ecologist with hands-on experience of surveying plant communities, amphibians and birds. Claire has worked throughout the UK as well as parts of Africa, Asia and the Caribbean.
A founder of the Turtle Conservation Project in Sri Lanka, Claire has been involved in many projects of conservation significance. Now based at our offices in Cumbria, Claire provides the logistical support that allows our teams to work effectively both in the UK and abroad.
Emily Almond
Graduate Ecologist
Emily is a Zoology graduate from the University of Cumbria, situated in Kent, that is flexible with dates and locations.
She has experience in ECoW destructive reptile searches including translocating amphibians, reptiles and small mammals. Emily has received NVC training with target notes (phase 1 and phase 2) as part of a detailed Zoological Monitoring Technique module. This module also provided training on a plethora of surveying techniques for birds, amphibians, reptiles, plants and mammals. I have further experience surveying amphibians, reptiles, flora (with Kent Wildlife Trust) and invertebrates.
Emily used Ganivet and Bloomberg (2019) rapid forest assessment methods in West Africa, for her dissertation, assessing habitat preferences in forest mammals. The dissertation recorded a new species of genet for The Gambia and possibly science. On another trip to The Gambia she was part of a small team that surveyed the upper river banks for the Critically Endangered Temminck's red colobus; increasing their known global population by 24% in just 3 days!
Shannon Cornish
Graduate Ecologist
Shannon has experience in camera trapping, small mammal trapping, pine marten scat surveys and den box checks and badger sett surveying. As well as this she has surveyed otters, amphibian and reptiles, red squirrels, seals, other marine species (ORCA), bushbabies, bats, vultures, red colobus and dormice.
Shannon has great British and worldwide wildlife and conservation knowledge and a full clean driving licence. She is also a registered Marine Mammal Medic (British Divers Marine Life Rescue) and co-ran a cetacean watch event.
Her other skills include event planning, various IT skills (Word, R programming and excel), good communication (both indirect and direct), habitat management - coppicing, tree planting, path restoration, habitat maintenance and creation (Duke of Burgundy Butterfly), animal care, teamwork, problem-solving, following instructions, public engagement and creating positive relations with various companies and charities.
Caitlin Henderson
Graduate Ecologist
Caitlin has experience volunteering in Zambia and Laos for education and conservation, conducting research in The Gambia, camera trapping mammals and birds in The Gambia, carrying out habitat assessments of Gambia’s main forests (including identification of plants), surveying Gambias upper river for red colobus monkeys, and surveying mammals, reptiles and amphibians in England using various zoological monitoring techniques.
Caitlin has further completed a FrogLife herpetology course; designing biodiversity net gain for bats course and a raptor ID course.
Tom Wright
Graduate Ecologist
Toms skills involve camera trapping, Longworth trapping, scat and den/sett checks.
He has experience surveying pine martens, badgers, otters, amphibians and reptiles, harvest mice, dormouse, red squirrels, vultures, red colobus, bushbabies, seal, bats and marine mammals.
Toms has extensive knowledge of British and worldwide wildlife and ecosystems, a creative approach to conservation, a full clean driving licence and a brush cutter licence.
His skills include great IT skills, good communication, teamwork, problem-solving, public engagement and creating positive links with individuals and organisations, animal care, event planning, path creation, habitat management and creation, tree planting, fence erection, pollarding, hedge laying, scrub clearance, tree felling, dead hedging, ring barking and preventing erosion of riverbanks.