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Jun 22, 20201 min read
Lets Go Fly a Kite...
At HED Ltd, we are lucky to have regular sightings of red kites flying over our office on the Black Isle. Unmistakable for other raptors,...
May 4, 20201 min read
Otter sprainting
Recently, we were lucky enough to capture an otter sprainting on along a beach. Otter spraint (excrement) is known for possessing various...
Apr 2, 20202 min read
Ecological ‘Clert’ of Works – The importance of monitoring water quality
As a child who loved the outdoors, I was regularly told off by my mother for being a ‘clert’ always playing in water and mud. Clert is a...
Mar 23, 20201 min read
No Stone Unturned
While out for a wander on the Black Isle on a cold afternoon, I spent some time watching a flock of Turnstones foraging along a rocky...
Mar 11, 20201 min read
Tight squeeze...
If you’re at all claustrophobic, then you may want to think twice before entering a confined space to undertake a bat survey. Common...
Mar 5, 20202 min read
Old mans rant...
As ecologists today we often find ourselves in some strange and remote places whether; under a bridge over fast flowing water on a...
Feb 3, 20202 min read
Ecology of the Dancing Chinese Lion
Chinese New Year is celebrated from January 25th until February 8th. Also known as the Spring festival, it welcomes the end of winter...
Jan 15, 20201 min read
Going green...
Around our coast you’ll be able to see some of our largest seabirds and the Cormorant and Shag are among the largest. These birds are...
Dec 10, 20191 min read
Pearls of the Water
While surveying for otters along a riverbank, we uncovered shells of the critically endangered mollusc, freshwater pearl mussel...
Nov 8, 20191 min read
Winter safe houses...
We have been busy using our in house roped access, tree climbing and confined space training for a number of development schemes...
Oct 31, 20191 min read
For the Love of Peat…
Recently we have been undertaking peat depth surveys and implementing management plans for hydro schemes across Scotland, as well as...
Oct 3, 20192 min read
Badgers and developments
At HED Ltd, a large portion of the work that we do relates to badgers and how they can be affected by developments. We offer guidance to...
Aug 12, 20191 min read
The belted beauty on Tiree… a rare sight.
We have travelled to most of the larger islands around Scotland but never to Tiree. So when heading to the TMF10 (Tiree Music Fesitval 10...
Aug 6, 20192 min read
‘Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me’…
This hover fly is the common ‘drone fly' (Eristalis tenax) spotted on a thistle flower. Its appearance is mimicking a honeybee drone and...
Jul 31, 20192 min read
Being tourists on the edge...
To start an exciting long weekend on the North Coast 500, we stayed in a camping pod at John o' Groats, so we could go visit some amazing...
Jul 31, 20192 min read
Reptiles and construction sites
HED Ltd have been involved in a number of different development projects this year, with more on the horizon and a busy summer ahead of...
Jul 5, 20192 min read
The Black Isle BIG 5
Getting up at 1.30 am for work is not normally my idea of a fun night out but a dawn bat activity survey we carried out this week proved...
May 23, 20192 min read
We've been on a bear hunt...
Imagine walking through the woods and then you come across a print, not just any print, a HUGE print in fact a bear print. Knowing bears,...
Mar 26, 20191 min read
Reaching new heights...
We’ve been spending some time at height searching for bat roosts in trees on the road network. We have been focusing on hazardous...
Mar 6, 20191 min read
Territorial marking...
We rarely see the creatures we undertake surveys for as part of hydro-schemes, road and rail or housing developments. Often we rely on...
