Lake district firm HiDef Aerial Surveying announced they have been contracted to undertake trial surveys for Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH). The agreement is to develop a bespoke digital video survey model to conduct census counts of various deer species within the Scottish Highlands. Historically the surveys have been undertaken using two helicopters relying on specialist SNH staff to capture still images from hand held cameras. HiDef approached the statutory advisor advocating the use of a fixed wing aircraft operating at significantly higher altitudes with a view to reducing costs.
John Martin, Managing Director at HiDef commented, “Performing surveys from fixed wing platform offers substantial benefits in terms of reduction of health and safety hazards and avoiding disturbance to the deer through low level helicopter noise. Fixed wing also offer cost reductions potentially allowing for a more extensive survey regime.”
