A national utility company required vegetation clearance to be undertaken along a pipeline to allow for regular inspections and maintenance. Work needed to occur during the bird-nesting season. The vegetation varied between tussocky grassland, scrub and semi-mature woodland. CEC was instructed to provide an experienced and qualified surveyor and Ecological Clerk of Works to supervise the works to ensure that the removal of vegetation did not disturb or destroy any active nests or any European Protected Species. This required the ecologist to attend each site at dawn to identify bird activity in the relevant area and identify any areas used by nesting birds. A buffer zone of vegetation was left around each nesting area, which the contractors did not remove during the nesting period.
Location: Wales and Welsh borders