Digital aerial low tide survey and validation study of digital aerial survey methods at Morecambe Bay and Duddon Estuary Special Protection Area (SPA) in winter 2023/24

Natural England is seeking a contractor to complete five tasks under this contract. Task 1) To design and conduct one high resolution / definition digital aerial survey of the entire Morecambe Bay and Duddon Estuary SPA this winter (2023/24) at low tide. Task 2) To process the imagery collected under task 1) and analyse the data to provide robust population abundance estimates and spatial distribution maps of birds and marine mammals across the SPA. Task 3) To design and conduct a high resolution/definition digital aerial survey of a specific sub-set of sites/ WeBS low tide count sectors within the SPA at low tide this winter (2023/24), simultaneously with a separately commissioned programme of ground-based counts with the specific aim of enabling a validation of the digital aerial survey method. Task 4) To process the imagery collected under task 3) and analyse the data to provide robust population abundance estimates and spatial distribution maps of birds across each of the specific sub-set of sites/WeBS low tide count sectors. Task 5) To produce a single report, using a Natural England template and following relevant guidance (see: Natural England publishing standards for commissioned reports - NECR000) outlining all methods and results, accompanied by all relevant output files, and other specified deliverables.