BH Wildlife Consultancy

07/10/2026

We’re delighted to have contributed our experience and expertise to DroneWild’s new Lantra-accredited course in drone wildlife surveying, which is now live.

At BH Wildlife Consultancy, drones and thermal imagery have been part of our wildlife survey work for years. We’ve carried out surveys across hundreds of thousands of hectares, from large-scale deer counts to bird and habitat surveys, developing practical methods for collecting and interpreting reliable wildlife data.

We’ve brought that experience directly into the course, sharing the approaches, survey techniques and lessons learned from real-world projects across the UK.

The course includes:
✅ Fully online, self-paced training
✅ Lantra-accredited certificate, valid for 3 years
✅ Practical wildlife surveying knowledge and real-world examples
✅ Field handbook for use during surveys
✅ Suitable for existing drone pilots new to wildlife applications

Find out more and enrol via the DroneWild website.

05/10/2026

Sika are some of the hardest deer to count.

They are secretive by nature, favour dense cover and will often sit tight. Walk past this patch of scrub and you would never know they were there.

All three views were captured at the same instant from one drone:

Thermal: two clear heat signatures in thick cover
Wide angle: the same view to the naked eye
Zoom: one sika peering out from the middle of the bush

This is why we survey with thermal in the first instance. It finds the animals that visual counts miss, giving more reliable figures to base deer management decisions on.

27/09/2026

This series of photographs was captured during a single morning of wildlife surveying on the west coast of Scotland last week.

There was a bit of rain and wind at times, but it certainly didn’t stop the wildlife from making an appearance!

From mammals to birds, it’s a great example of just how much wildlife can be encountered in a single morning out in the field.

22/09/2026

We're excited to be part of a brilliant day of deer, wildlife, photography, conservation, storytelling, music and film at Rheged on Saturday 10th October!

Join us at 2:15pm for Drones, Deer & the Future of Conservation. Discover how thermal drones are changing the way we find, count and protect deer and wildlife, with real footage from our surveys and a glimpse at what's coming next.

The programme is here! 🦌

We’ve got a brilliant day of deer, wildlife, photography, conservation, storytelling, music and film coming your way on Saturday 10th October. Six brilliant sessions at Rheged taking you behind the lens, into the landscape and behind the scenes of deer conservation.

Here’s what’s on…

10:30am | Behind the Lens – Award Winning Wildlife Photographer, Deb Heath. Book your FREE place: https://rheged.com/event/behind-the-lens-lakes-deer-fest/

11:45am | Discover Deer & the Lake District Landscape with Alastair Boston. Book your FREE place: https://rheged.com/event/discover-deer-and-the-lake-district-landscape/

1pm | Stories & Songs of the Wild with Stephen G. Rae and BlueJam Arts Book your FREE place: https://rheged.com/event/stories-and-songs-of-the-wild/

2:15pm | Drones, Deer & the Future of Conservation BH Wildlife Consultancy. Book your FREE place: https://rheged.com/event/drones-deer-and-the-future-of-conservation/

3:15pm | Working with Wildlife
Meet the Wildlife Ranger Trainees & professionals working across Cumbria’s landscape Book your FREE place: https://rheged.com/event/working-with-wildlife/

4:15pm | Films from the Landscape
A collection of short films celebrating deer, wildlife, landscapes and rural life. Book your FREE place: https://rheged.com/event/films-from-the-landscape/

…And the best bit? Every session is FREE. 🙌

Places are limited, so make sure to get your tickets booked and come spend the day celebrating deer, wild places and the people who care for them!

📍 Lakes Deer Fest
📅 Saturday 10th October
🎟️ FREE – booking essential!

With huge thanks to all of our speakers, contributors and partners:

The British Deer Society - Official Lake District National Park Forestry Commission Kielder Forest - Forestry England Wild Haweswater National Trust Lake District BlueJam Arts BH Wildlife Consultancy Raise: Cumbria Community Forest Rachel Shore Designs

09/09/2026

Cave stag – part three

He's back. The Cave Stag has been returning throughout June, July and August and is more impressive than ever.

In this clip he browses inside the cave mouth, then utilises a thistle to scratch his velvet antlers - providing some relief.

He's now in hard antler along with the other mature stags, so the rut isn't far off. Over the next few weeks the stags will start roaring and head for the hinds.

More once the rut is on.

04/09/2026

An article we wrote summarising some insights over the last few years.

"How many deer are there in the UK? That is a question that we are regularly being asked, with two million often being quoted by many as the answer, with little reference or evidence to back this up."

31/08/2026

A slightly different take on our usual thermal work this summer.

We have been carrying out bat emergence surveys for the first time, on the large, old roofs of historic buildings in central Scotland ahead of planned roof works.

This white hot thermal clip shows bats emerging at dusk. Thermal lets us pinpoint exactly where bats leave the roof and where they return into their roost cavities. That is precisely the evidence licensing authorities need before works can be consented and on roofs this size it can be near impossible to capture reliably by eye.

A great way to round off a varied summer of projects and proof that the same technology we use for deer, goat and bird surveys works well on a very different challenge.

17/08/2026

Content warning: this footage shows natural predatory behaviour that some viewers may find distressing.

While doing a bird survey off the west coast of Scotland, we documented something rarely caught on camera: an adult grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) preying on a young common seal (Phoca vitulina). After hearing commotion in the water the following video was recorded.

Grey seal predation on other marine mammals has been known to science for some years, largely from carcass evidence and a small number of direct observations but footage of the behaviour itself remains scarce. They help build our understanding of grey seal foraging ecology and may be relevant to ongoing questions around common seal population trends in parts of Scotland.

The footage at the end shows a female common seal searching for the pup following the predation.

10/08/2026

Badgers: lowland broadleaf woodland specialists, right?

Not always. Every year we detect a small number of badgers at high altitude during daylight surveys. During a recent thermal drone deer survey in the Scottish Highlands, we detected two badgers near the top of a hill - open ground, high altitude, well away from the woodland and pasture habitat they're usually associated with.

Badgers are more adaptable than many realise, and foraging at night on an open hillside they'd be invisible to conventional surveys. Thermal imaging means very little stays hidden.

10/08/2026

BH Wildlife Consultancy is delighted to have been nominated in the Innovation in Conservation category at this year’s Schöffel Country Countryside Awards 2026.

Innovation has always been at the heart of what we do, particularly in developing and applying new technologies to improve wildlife monitoring, conservation and land management. It’s fantastic to see this work recognised alongside others making a real difference across the countryside.

As part of the build-up to the awards, we recently spent a day filming and showcasing some of the technology and work we do to Schoffel. It was a great opportunity to share more about BH Wildlife Consultancy and the work behind our nomination.

We’re now looking forward to the awards ceremony in London this November and wish all the other nominees the very best of luck!