Peatland ACTION - Species Surveys Guidance and Templates for birds, otter, and water vole

Undertaking management and restoration work on Scotland’s peatland habitats has the potential to conflict with Scotland’s wild birds breeding on these habitats.

Our guidance on peatland restoration and breeding birds sets out a protocol that all parties involved in peatland restoration are required to follow to ensure that they stay within the constraints of the law. 

Guidance on mountain hare surveys is being developed.

1. Introduction

Undertaking management and restoration work on Scotland’s peatland habitats will have long-term benefits for supporting a rich biodiversity as well as improving water quality and carbon storage. When undertaking restoration work, all parties involved must ensure that there are no negative impacts on protected species and that they stay within the constraints of the law.

There are two reasons why those undertaking peatland restoration must pay due care and attention to protected species constraints:

1.1 Legal requirement

• The law: as a European protected species, the otter is fully protected under the Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c.) Regulations 1994 (as amended); and the water vole receives partial protection under Schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended).

1.2 Policy requirement

• The government is committed to protecting biodiversity. Funding works through Peatland ACTION that could result in loss, damage and disturbance to breeding birds from any management work is inconsistent with this biodiversity duty.

2. What the law says

What the laws says about wild otter and wild water vole

2.1 Wild otter

It is an offence to deliberately or recklessly:

• capture, injure or kill an otter
• harass an otter or group of otters
• disturb an otter in a holt or any other structure or place it uses for shelter or protection
• disturb an otter while it is rearing or otherwise caring for its young
• obstruct access to a holt or other structure or place otters use for shelter or protection, or otherwise deny the animal use of that place
• disturb an otter in a manner or in circumstances likely to significantly affect the local distribution or abundance of the species
• disturb an otter in a manner or in circumstances likely to impair its ability to survive, breed or reproduce, or rear or otherwise care for its young

It is also an offence to:

• damage or destroy a breeding site or resting place of such an animal (whether or not deliberately or recklessly)
• keep, transport, sell or exchange, or offer for sale or exchange any wild otter (or any part or derivative of one) obtained after 10 June 1994

Otter shelters are legally protected whether or not an otter is present.

2.2 Wild water vole

It is an offence to intentionally or recklessly:

• damage, destroy or obstruct access to any structure or place that water voles use for shelter or protection
• disturb a water vole while it is using any such place of shelter or protection

Peatland restoration work must avoid any activity that is an offence to any protected species.

2.3. Licensing

Licensing allows named individuals to carry out actions that could otherwise constitute an offence. If you’re planning any activities that could affect water voles, you must make sure you stay within the law.

Find out about otters and licensing and water voles and licensing.

3. Carrying out surveys for otter

An otter survey should be carried out in all suitable otter habitat within 200m of the proposed restoration works for any peatland restoration project.

3.1 Carrying out an otter survey

Surveys should be done by persons with the appropriate knowledge of otter ecology and practical experience of otter survey work. All suitable otter habitat within 200m of the proposed works should be surveyed, including a systematic search for spraints, paw prints, otter paths, slides, food remains, holts and places used for shelter. Otter holts can sometimes be located well away from open water, so suitably sized holes/cavities in peat banks, under tree roots plates and in boulder piles, even if not near water should be checked for signs.

If holts are identified, trail cameras and/or endoscopy can help to check whether holts are in use and if breeding is taking place. These intrusive methods can cause disturbance and will require a survey licence from NatureScot species licensing. They should only be used where confirming the status of a holt is essential in designing appropriate mitigation, or where damage or disturbance of a holt cannot be avoided.

Otter surveys can be carried out at any time of year but should avoid periods following prolonged heavy rainfall and/or high water when spraints and other signs of otter may have been washed away. Heavy frost or recent snow can also make finding spraints difficult. In open upland/peatland habitat, otter signs can be well hidden and not obvious, so searches along watercourses should include checking under overhanging vegetation on the banks, especially where hidden recesses in the bank may exist due to eroded peat etc.

The survey information needs to be sufficiently up-to-date for when restoration works are due to start. Otter surveys normally remain valid for two years and should be repeated if the work is delayed beyond that. Unless it is clearly evident that there has been no substantive change in number, distribution or activity of otters since the original survey was undertaken.

3.2 Reporting survey results

If otters could be affected by the peatland restoration work, a survey report must be written and include a species protection plan. Measures to minimise impacts on otters should follow a hierarchy of avoidance, mitigation and compensation:

The plan should include:

• A map showing otter habitat and the location of otter signs, holts or shelters in relation to the development;
• Measures proposed to minimise impacts on otters, including annotated maps and/or photographs showing the location of any measures proposed and how they relate to survey information and construction work;
• Mark work exclusion zones around any holts and shelters. If otters are breeding, the zone should be at least 200m. However, it could be reduced to 100m depending on the nature of the works, topography and natural screening. This will require judgement from an experienced ecologist. For holts and shelters where otters are not breeding, the exclusion zone should be 30m. Where exclusion zones of the required size are not possible, works will require a licence from NatureScot before they can proceed.
• Avoid working in the vicinity of otter habitat during the hours of darkness and within two hours after sunrise and two hours before sunset. This can be reduced to one hour between November and February (inclusive) because of the limited daylight. These restrictions are not necessary in coastal habitat where otters are more diurnal.
• A summary of any residual impacts once the above measures are taken into account.
• Details of any licensing requirements.

Further guidance on otter surveys, mitigation and compensation can be found here https://www.nature.scot/doc/standing-advice-planning-consultations-otters

4. Carrying out surveys for water vole

A water vole survey should be carried if peatland restoration works are within 10m of suitable water vole habitat. Lowland habitat that may support water voles includes small slow-flowing or static burns, backwaters, canals, ditches and overgrown field drains. Suitable watercourses are usually less than 3m wide and 1m deep (often much less than this in peatland areas), without any extreme fluctuations in water level, and have well vegetated banks with steep or stepped profiles where water voles can make burrows above the water table. Stony banks that cannot be easily excavated for burrows are avoided. In upland locations, water voles are most likely to be found in narrow moorland burns on flat or gently sloping ground with thick deposits of peat. Typical sites are in narrow tributaries and pools in the upper reaches of a river system, or in the upper reaches of glaciated valleys where small burns meander across a marshy floodplain with rushes and sedges. 

4.1 Carrying out a water vole survey

Water vole surveys should be done by persons with appropriate knowledge of water vole ecology and practical experience of water vole survey work. They include a search for signs of water voles up to 2m from the water’s edge along all watercourses or pond banks that might be affected by a proposal. Water vole signs include burrows, runs, tracks, feeding stations, droppings and latrines. Although the burrows and runs can be very obvious along the top of stream banks (and persist for years, even when not regularly occupied), other field signs such as latrines and feeding stations can be harder to find, so searches along watercourses should include checking close to the base of grass/rush tussocks and under overhanging vegetation on the banks, especially where hidden recesses in the bank may exist due to eroded peat etc.

In upland blanket bog and rush-dominated marshy grassland, water voles may occur well away from the riparian zone, in which case it will be necessary to extend the survey further away from the waterside into the adjoining habitat. How far will depend on local circumstances.

In upland and peatland locations surveys can be undertaken from May to September, when the animals are most active above ground. The ideal period to undertake a survey is June to August. Avoid periods following high water when droppings and other signs may have been washed away. Exceptionally, if timing constraints dictate that surveys are undertaken outside the recommended period they may detect burrows and runs, but demonstrating that these are in use may not be possible. In practice, if these areas can easily be avoided during works as a precaution and, with the appropriate buffer in place, such out of season information can sometimes still be useful without the need for further survey in the summer to confirm occupancy.

Further details of water vole survey methods are provided in The Water Vole Mitigation Handbook (The Mammal Society 2016); and specifically with respect to hydro schemes (but relevant to other upland development) in Annex C of Guidance for applicants on supporting information requirements for hydropower applications (SEPA 2014).

The survey information needs to be sufficiently up-to-date for when restoration work is due to start. Water vole surveys normally remain valid for two more survey periods and should be repeated if the work is going to be delayed beyond the start of a third survey period.

4.2 Reporting survey results

If water vole could be affected by the peatland restoration work, a survey report must be written and include a species protection plan. Measures to minimise impacts on water voles should follow a hierarchy of avoidance, mitigation and compensation:

 The plan should include:

• A map showing the location of water vole signs and burrows in relation to the development;
• Measures proposed to minimise impacts on water voles, including annotated maps and/or photographs showing the location of any measures proposed and how they relate to survey information and construction work;
• Mark 10m work exclusion zones around water vole habitat and maintain habitat corridors and access to high ground in flood-prone areas. Where a 10m exclusion zone is not possible around active water vole burrows a licence will be required from NatureScot before works can proceed.
• A summary of any residual impacts once the above measures are taken into account.
• Details of any licensing requirements.

Further guidance on water vole surveys, mitigation and compensation can be found here https://www.nature.scot/doc/standing-advice-planning-consultations-water-voles

5. Guidance for managers and contractors working on peatland restoration sites

Understanding the constraint(s) that otter and water vole pose before undertaking restoration work on peatland sites should be an integral part of the project planning process.

It is important to consider the timing requirements for otter and water vole surveys when planning peatland restoration projects to ensure surveys will be carried out at the appropriate time of year.

Because water voles in peatland sites can sometimes occur in areas some distance from the nearest visible water, machine operators need to be vigilant and should stop work immediately if they come across holes, usually in groups, that resemble previously undetected water vole burrows. Advice on what to look out for should be provided to all such operators.

Work on any protected area will require consultation with NatureScot where there are protected species present that qualify as features of the protected site. A Habitats Regulations Appraisal (HRA) may be needed for a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and a written consent may be needed for a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), depending on the site’s listed Operations Requiring Consent. For many sites, NatureScot will hold species information, or can identify appropriate sources of information.

Three reptile species (adder, common lizard, and slow-worm) are known to occur in Scottish peatlands. All native reptile species are protected under relevant national legislation, and are also included on the national lists used to define the Biodiversity Duty of public bodies in the UK.

Amphibian and Reptile Group UK Advice Note 10: Reptile survey and mitigation guidance for peatland habitats provides guidance on designing peatland restoration projects so as to avoid negative impacts on reptiles. A flow chart and summary table are provided to assist project planning. 

1. Introduction

This GIS data template has been designed for species surveys and can be used to either capture data directly in the field on a tablet or smartphone app, or to digitise records from field notes after a species survey has been undertaken. Which of these methods chosen will determine how you use the template.

Templates are available as both OGC Geopackage (.gpkg) for use with QGIS (preferred) and as a File Geodatabase (.gdb) for use with ESRI ArcGIS Pro.

Users are free to export data to other formats such as ESRI Shapefile to fit their workflows, however - the data must be submitted to NatureScot Peatland Action as either OGC Geopackage or File Geodatabase. Data provided in other file formats will not be accepted.

The templates have been designed to enable consistent capture of data, as such, please do not alter the table schema – for instance by changing field names or adding new fields.

2. What the template aims to do

This is primarily a way to record and submit data. The template uses the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) breeding evidence codes. The template also includes functionality to create a new layer that represents indicative disturbance zones around bird species listed on Schedule 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 that are considered probable or confirmed breeders. It is intended as a guide to surveyors, and they should refer to the individual species accounts in the guidance Disturbance Distances Review report and use their professional judgement to decide on an appropriate buffer. This will be necessary for those species where sufficient empirical data does not exist and that are not that are not included in the Disturbance Distances Review report. For example, dotterel is not covered in the Disturbance Distances Review report and does not trigger a disturbance buffer in this tool. However, as a Schedule 1 species under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, dotterel should be protected from intentional or reckless disturbance, while at a nest containing eggs or young, or with dependent young. Therefore, dotterel would need to be included in a species protection plan and the surveyor’s professional judgement would be required to define the disturbance buffer zone. 

3. What is in the template

The template comprises four spatial tables, a non-spatial table and ten of lookup tables (which are used to populate dropdown options for some fields). 

3.1 Spatial tables

Bird_records are edited in the field when species are encountered (or transcribed from field notes). The bird species list includes most of the species likely to be encountered, but it is not exhaustive. If bird species are recorded that are not on the list please use ‘Other (please specify in Notes)’ and add the species into the Notes field.

Mammal_records are edited in the field when species are encountered (or transcribed from field notes). The template currently allows records of Water Vole and Otter to be entered. Other relevant species data can be submitted to [email protected].

Survey_area is the boundary of the area surveyed and needs to be set up prior to going into the field. This can be edited in the field, if required.

Disturbance buffer table will display the output of the disturbance buffer workflow (see below). This workflow creates indicative disturbance buffers for species listed on Schedule 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act that have been recorded as probable or confirmed breeders. 

3.2 Non-spatial tables

Survey_details should be entered in the relevant field to record the survey metadata; the survey_id, start time, end time, weather conditions etc. Survey_id should be an integer that corresponds to the visit number. The lookup tables (prefixed with ‘lu_’) are used by the QGIS project to populate the dropdown options for particular fields. The lu_bird_species comprises a list of most bird species likely to be encountered, with the breeding season start and end dates for species, where such information is available, and a disturbance buffer zone, where evidence is available in the disturbance distances of selected bird species. 

4. Workflow

This GIS template can be used to capture data directly in the field (A), or to digitise records from field notes after a species survey has been undertaken (B).

5. Using the template for field data capture

Mobile data capture tools are available for both QGIS (preferred) and ArcGIS Pro – some recommended options include:
•    Qfield
•    Mergin maps
•    ArcGIS Field Maps
•    ArcGIS Collector

5.1 Multiple surveyors

If more than one surveyor is completing a survey on a site, the surveyors can contribute to the same survey area, or complete individual survey areas per surveyor. The survey data from multiple surveyors should be collated before running the disturbance buffer tool. 

5.2 Generating the disturbance buffer 

This section describes how to generate disturbance distance buffers for species listed on Schedule 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 that are considered probable or confirmed breeders. The process for both is detailed below. Note – this buffer should only be considered a starting point and should not be a substitute for professional opinion. There may be various factors such as topography where it may be appropriate to adjust the buffer.

If mammals are recorded and a buffer for mammals is needed, use the default buffer tool in QGIS or ArcGIS to generate an appropriate buffer. Copy the outputs into the disturbance buffer table.

5.3 QGIS

The QGIS template includes a tool generated for the purpose. The tool is saved within the QGIS project file (species_survey_template.qgz) and can be found in the processing toolbox. The tool has been developed using QGIS 3.22, it is recommended to use the latest Long Term Release (at time of writing 3.22) for compatibility. Older versions of QGIS may not run the tool correctly. To find the tool, use the processing search bar or go to the processing tool box and then “Project models” and “Disturbance buffer tool”. See figure 1. Tool requirements.

The disturbance buffer tool requires that each row of the bird_records table has the species and breeding_behaviour_evidence field completed. These fields are used by the tool to lookup the relevant species to assign a disturbance buffer.

Once happy with the options, run the tool and the output disturbance buffer will be created. Copy the results into the disturbance buffer layer.

5.4 ArcGIS Pro 

The data model can also be completed using ArcGIS Pro, the project was created using ArcGIS Pro 2.9 – for compatibility it is recommended to use at least version 2.9 or newer.

There is not a customized tool in ArcGIS Pro template, but the default buffer tool can be used in this instance as described. The bird_record table is configured using a join to the lu_bird_lookup and lu_breeding_evidence tables. Open the attribute table of the bird_record and you can filter by breeding status and schedule 1 status. Select only species that are listed as Schedule 1 and have a breeding status as “probable” or “breeding”. Use the default buffer tool in ArcGIS Pro and use as buffer_zone the field to buffer the features by. See figure 2. A new polygon will be generated, copy the results from that polygon into the disturbance buffer layer. 

ADD IMAGE / FIGURE - Need long description 

6. Outputs

6.1 Data Submission

During the active restoration works phase all bird survey data using Peatland ACTION’s Species Survey GIS template in the form of a PDF using the print map layout template and a species list in an excel spreadsheet should be submitted to [email protected] within 48 hours of the survey.  All survey data should be sent as either OGC Geopackage or File Geodatabase (data provided in other file formats will not be accepted) along with any accompanying reports and Species Protection Plans to [email protected] within one week of the survey being completed.

6.2 Species List in Excel

Please, use the excel template provided and do not alter any columns or sheet order or names. The excel spreadsheet needs to contain two sheets (apart from the info sheet), one called bird_records and the other one called survey_details. The bird_records sheet needs to have the next columns fid, survey_id, species, count, breeding evidence, notes, uuid, easting and northing. The survey_details sheet needs to have the fid, survey_id, survey_area_id, survey_date, suvey_start, survey_end, surveyor_name, coverage, visibility, cloud_cover, rain, wind_force, snow_cover, weather_affected_notes. The recommend workflow is to export the bird_breeding layer to excel or csv and also the survey_details. Then, copy the content of the exports into the template.

6.3 Print Map Layout

A print map layout template is provided for both, ArcGIS and QGIS. Please create a map to an appropriate scale and export ii as a GeoPDF. 

6.4 Outputs Checklist

•    Make sure that the Survey IDs for survey details table and the rest of the tables (survey area, disturbance buffer, bird records and mammal records, are consistent).
•    Check that the disturbance buffer has been generated (if there are birds categorise as such).
•    Once the bird breeding table is completed, check that easting and northing coordinates has been generated. 
•    Survey dates are consistent between the survey details table, the title on the survey print map layout and the excel spreadsheet table.
•    Make sure that the excel spreadsheet contains just the columns requested and the column names and tab names have not been changed.
•    Geodatabase (if using ArcGIS pro) and Gepackage (if using QGIS) just contain the original layers and they have not been altered. The geodatabase in ArcGIS Pro is the one called “species_survey.gdb”.
•    Make sure you use the same data types on the excel spreadsheet as the ones used on the spatial data templates.

7. Other Reporting Requirements 

Please note, that observations of any active nest sites of non-Schedule 1 bird species found within 500m of the working area or any active nest sites of a Schedule 1 bird species that are found within the accepted disturbance distances defined in the Disturbance distances review report and any required mitigation must be reported via email to the [email protected] mailbox, the relevant Project Officer and the works contractor within 24 hours. Where possible, disturbance buffer zones should be marked out on the ground with the contractor. Similarly, observations of any other protected species found during the active restoration works phase that could be impacted by the works and mitigation requirements must be reported via email to the [email protected] mailbox, the Peatland ACTION Project Officer and the contractor within 24 hours to ensure appropriate action is be taken to avoid any impact to protected species.