Wintering Bird Monitoring at London Gateway

The Brief

Thomson Environmental Consultants delivered a wintering bird monitoring programme across the London Gateway development to assess the use of habitats by qualifying bird species within designated sites and on functionally linked land.

This included new intertidal habitat created through sea wall realignment and breaching to compensate for the loss of 74 ha of intertidal mudflat within the Thames Estuary and Marshes SPA. The surveys informed ecological assessments, mitigation planning, and ongoing habitat management.

Our Role

We delivered a comprehensive monitoring programme over six months, including:

• Wintering bird surveys at nine sites, twice monthly, totalling 108 surveys
• High- and low-tide counts using Core Count (CC) and Low Tide Count (LTC) methodologies adapted from BTO and WeBS standards
• Mapping of bird locations and flocks using ArcGIS FieldMaps
• Recording roosting and foraging behaviour for 28 key species across SPA, Ramsar and SSSI sites, including Mucking Flats and Marshes and South Thames Estuary and Marshes
• Winter farmland bird surveys, using transect walks and visual scans of all potential habitats
• Digitisation and spatial analysis of survey data by Thomson’s Geospatial Team, producing peak counts, distribution maps, and species composition data

Outcomes 

• Provided peak counts and distribution data for comparison with a 10-year monitoring dataset
• Detailed understanding of species composition and habitat use to inform development impact assessment and mitigation design
• Identification of constraints affecting wintering bird establishment and recommendations for habitat improvements
• High-quality mapping and spatial outputs supporting strategic conservation management

Challenges & Solutions 

• Human disturbance and adverse weather sometimes affected counts. We mitigated this by maintaining a consistent, frequent survey schedule and adjusting dates when required.
• Logistical challenges of covering all sites on survey days were overcome by deploying a competent, experienced team of ornithologists to cover all sectors efficiently.

Lessons Learned 

• Rapid mobilisation and use of a consistent, experienced survey team allowed for efficient fieldwork and reliable data collection
• Familiarity with site geography, ecological constraints, and monitoring protocols improved survey accuracy and efficiency

Providing robust, repeatable monitoring to support habitat management, mitigation and compliance for large-scale port and infrastructure developments.