The spring is always a busy time for ecological consultancies, and CGO Ecology's calendar is pretty full this year. In fact, it never quietened down over the winter 2013-2014; we have remained busy throughout. Much of it was down to EPS licence applications and the protracted drama these seem to be causing most practitioners these days. Here's a synopsis of what we're up to in spring 2014:

CGO Ecology is currently carrying out a reptile capture and translocation exercise in a large china clay quarry complex on the edge of Dartmoor. For centuries, china clay has been quarried in this corner of Devon, within a few miles of Plymouth, and the modern excavations are on a huge scale. China clay from Headon Quarry and neighbouring sites in the Cornwood area is renown for its quality, and has entered products as diverse as paper and protective tiles for NASA space shuttles.

CGO Ecology has just completed a couple of large contracts on behalf of Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (ARC), and Natural England respectively. January to March has become increasingly busy in the last couple of years, with projects involving pre-season surveys, reporting, and policy-based work.

CGO Ecology has been awarded a contract by Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (ARC) to pilot a revised Common Standards Monitoring (CSM) methodology for herpetofauna interest features on English SSSIs. The project runs from January to March 2013, and will involve visits to 17 SSSIs and 9 SACs across England.

CGO Ecology has won a contract with Caledonian Conservation Ltd to provide mollusc surveys of four Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) in Scotland.