Agri-Environment Nightingale GPS tracking for the Upper Beult and Marden Farm Clusters

Overview

This contract will provide the GPS tags to be owned by Natural England and to be subsequently loaned out to a third party to study nightingales in the 2025/26 breeding season. Defra's Agri-environment schemes include both the existing Environmental Stewardship, Countryside Stewardship, and the newer Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) and Landscape Recovery. Natural England's Agri-environment team is working closely with farmers and landowners to use the schemes offered by DEFRA to deliver nature recovery at a landscape-scale. Understanding how species respond to Agri-environment actions is crucial to target investment properly. Nightingale is a red-listed species of conservation concern in the UK. Kent holds a significant proportion of the UK's Nightingale population, more than other individual counties. This project aims to investigate Nightingale use of agri-environment schemes in the Low Weald area, including hedgerow and scrub creation, field margins and ponds. It will focus on the breeding and post-breeding aspects of the Nightingale breeding cycle. The work will be undertaken by Adonis Blue Environmental (Kent Wildlife Trust Group) in collaboration with Natural England. It aligns with a comparable study of Turtle Doves. To apply for this opportunity you must submit your quotation meeting the requirements detailed in the Request for Quotation (RFQ) attached. Your response must be sent to elyse.ward@naturalengland.org.uk by 23:59 on 09/02/2025. If you have any clarification questions linked to this opportunity or the procurement process please submit these via email to elyse.ward@naturalengland.org.uk. Please note that, unless commercially sensitive, both the question and the response will be circulated to all tenderers.