With the warmer weather approaching, our ecologists have been preparing for survey work to pick up pace again. Over the winter months, many animals have been less active or hibernating, making them harder to detect. We’ve therefore been limiting survey work as to not disturb them.

In addition to continuing the monitoring of badger activity across the site, we have been examining ways to protect the otters who use the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal to commute through their wider territory.

Otters generally use waterways, such as the canal, to move between their resting places, known as holts, and foraging grounds. As part of the enhancements for the site, artificial otter holts will be built next to the canal to provide shelter and protection in an undisturbed location. A holt is where otters live and is a hole in the riverbank where cubs are born. The artificial holts will be placed within an area with vegetative structure, such as woodland, and could be made from recycled plastic.

In 2022 we’ll also be monitoring the bat population. From May, ecologists will start the nocturnal surveys to track the presence, or likely absence, of roosting bats within trees and structures around the site.

For more information on ecology on the site, please email us on contactus@communityrelations.co.uk.