Tredallett Farm Project
Duloe Nr Looe, Cornwall
In November 2020 Tredallett Farm was purchased by Ecological Surveys Ltd to become the centre of operations.
Work to create a home / office and training facility followed shortly after. This was completed in 2023 and since then a number of staff work from this location.
Regular training events are held here. These include:
- Botany training
- Veteran and Ancient Trees training
- Bat Emergence Survey training
- Dormouse Survey training
- First Aid training (including Forestry)
- Bat Scoping Survey training
- Badger Survey training
- Ecological Clerk of Works (ECoW) training
- QGIS training
- EcIA training
- BNG training
Some of these training events are for our own staff whilst others are provided to other Consultancies too.
We also provide various training courses for a range of clients at other locations too.
The farm has a range of habitats either present or in the process of being created. These include: lowland meadow, wet woodland, species rich hedgerows, a stream, small lakes, veteran and ancient trees – this makes it a perfect venue for training aspiring ecologists as well as more experienced ecologists too.
Concurrently with developing the training aspect, we have invested considerable time and effort in making the >25 acres a wildlife reserve.
We have provided additional habitats in the form of small lakes, completed reroofing on an old barn and partly finished another. Planted over 200m of new species rich native hedgerow and changed the management of the grassland. Erected various bird nest boxes and 50 dormouse boxes. We have started to lay hedgerows to thicken up cover for birds to nest too.
When the training facility was being constructed, we incorporated 10 nest cavities within the stonework and wall tops. The wall cavities are accessed via holes of various sizes to provision a wide range of options for hole nesting birds. This is important as some birds such as house sparrows will ‘evict’ baby blue tits leading to their death. Restricting hole sizes ensure that small birds are kept safe against larger birds.
As a result of the above, we have seen an increase in orange tip butterflies and in 2025 recorded marbled white butterflies for the first time. A resident lesser horseshoe bat and three pairs of swallows are nesting in the reroofed barn – Neither species were resident previously.
The nesting provision within the building has provided nest sites for a number of bird species, including: House sparrow, blue tit, great tit and pied wagtails. Nest boxes inside the barns have seen stock doves regularly nest. Whilst we regularly see barn owls quartering the fields, we have yet to attract a breeding pair. Whilst we have not had any hazel dormice confirmed as using nest boxes, we did in April 2026 record a dormouse nest in bramble!
We welcome interested parties (by appointment) and encourage volunteers to help turn our dream into a reality
Our mammal species include:
- Badger
- Hazel dormouse
- Fox
- Grey squirrel
- Otter
- Rarely rabbits
- Rats
- Roe deer
- Short tailed field voles
- Stoat
- Weasel
Our breeding bird species include:
- Black cap
- Blue tit
- Bull finch
- Blackbird
- Carrion crow
- Chiffchaff
- Collard dove
- Goldfinch
- Great tit
- Greater spotted woodpecker
- Green finch
- Jackdaw
- Long tailed tit
- Magpie
- Mallard
- Moorhen
- Pied wagtail
- Robin
- Stock dove
- Swallows
- Wood pigeon
- Wren
Birds present, but not confirmed breeding
- Coal tit
- Cuckoo
- Gold crest
- Herring gull
- Nuthatch
- Pheasant
- Song thrush
- Starling
- Tree creeper
- Yellow legged partridge
Birds of Prey
- Barn owl
- Buzzard
- Hobby
- Kestrel
- Merlin
- Sparrow hawk
- Tawny owl
Winter visitors
- Field fare
- Redwing
- Snipe
- No doubt other species are bolstered by winter migrants too
Our butterfly species include:
- Comma
- Common blue
- Gate keeper
- Green veined white
- Holly blue
- Large white
- Marbled white
- Meadow brown
- Orange tip
- Painted lady
- Peacock
- Red admiral
- Silver washed fritillary
- Small copper
- Small tortoiseshell
- Small white
- Speckled wood
- Wall butterfly
Fish species
- Bullhead
- Brown trout
- Common Eel
Amphibian and Reptile species
- Common frog
- Common lizard
- Common toad
- Grass snake
- Palmate newt
- Slow worm
Bat Species known to be present
- Greater horseshoe
- Lesser horseshoe
- Brown long eared
- Common pipistrelle
- Noctule
- Daubenton’s
We have been remiss with our own sites bat surveys, and this will be updated as and when.
Moth species as recorded by Mary Atkinson during two sessions Sept 2021 and July 2023
Acrobasis advenella
Agriphila straminella
Agriphila tristella
Angle-shades
Black Arches
Bloodvein
Brimstone
Common Carpet
Common Marbled Carpet
Common Wainscot
Common Wave
Double-striped Pug
Drinker
Feathered Gothic
Flame Shoulder
Flounced Rustic
Garden Pebble
Large Yellow Underwing
Magpie Moth
Orange Swift
Purple Bar
Scorched Carpet
Setaceous Hebrew Character
Small Fan-footed Wave
Small Square-spot
Snout
Square-spot Rustic
Straw Dot
Silver Y
Dingy Footman
Common Rustic agg.
Uncertain/Rustic
Buff Footman
Four-spotted Footman
Red Twin-spot Carpet
Dark Arches
Nut-tree Tussock
Smoky Wainscot
Rusty-dot Pearl
Mother-of-Pearl
Lychnis
Bright-line Brown-eye
Dark Swordgrass
Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing
Least Yellow Underwing
Heart & Dart
Lesser Yellow Underwing
Pebble Prominent
Rosy Rustic
Pale Prominent
July Highflier
Ruby Tiger
Sandy Carpet
Chinese Character
Cloaked Minor
Small Phoenix
Common Footman
Iron Prominent
Poplar Hawk
Elephant Hawk
Rosy Footman
Fan-foot
Single-dotted Wave
Clay
European Corn-borer
Oak Eggar
White-spotted Pug
Blastobasis adustella
Chrysoteucha culmella
Cydia splendana
Epagoge grotiana
Epiphyas postvittana
Eudonia lacustrata
Eudonia mercurella
Eupoecilia angustana
Noctua comes
Noctua interjecta
Noctua janthe
Pleuroptera ruralis
Pyrausta despicata
Udea ferrugalis
Yponomeutid plumbella
