dunsland cross windfarm
Ecology
A comprehensive program of ecological surveys has been carried out at the site. The site currently comprises predominantly pasture farmland. The interior of the site has no hedges or banks and is segregated into fields by wire fences. The site perimeter comprises tall, bushy species-rich hedges with trees and lengths of woodland edge.
The site was evaluated for its potential to support protected species. This evaluation excluded the likelihood of water vole and great crested newt occurring on site based on habitat quality and regional distribution of these taxa. Surveys were then conducted to establish the presence and distribution of other protected mammals known to occur, including bats, dormice, badgers, otters and birds.
Bat surveys have been undertaken on the site.
Dormice were found within the hedges bordering the north and west of the site, and thus may also occasionally occur throughout the hedges and woodland to the east and south.
The site was not found to contain nest sites for breeding birds listed in Annex I (EU Birds Directive) or Schedule 1 (Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981).
