UES have recently taken on Mark Norriss, as part of the UES Undergraduate Development Scheme (UDS). Mark has so far had a chance to get involved with Great crested newt (GCN) surveys using Natural England recommended techniques such as bottle trapping, netting, egg searches and torching.
Mark has also been involved with bat scoping surveys and bat presence / absence surveys of sites in Connoh’s Quay, Knutsford and Frodsham. Species encountered so far include Brown long-eared bats (Plecotus auritus), Common pipistrelle (Pipistrellus pipistrellus) and Soprano pipistrelle (Pipistrellus pygmaeus).
Mark has also been using the Batbox Duet bat detector recreationally to record a large maternity roost of over 50 Common pipistrelle bats in his own home in rural Cheshire. The bats will soon be raising their pups and so their numbers will be increasing even more.