In 2001 and 2002 I was asked to perform ecological surveys of Area 5 to support the Highways England’s Biodiversity Action Plan: that is, the M25 and its ‘stubs and tails’ (associated trunk roads or feeder routes). During 2001 I surveyed 60% of Area 5 including bridges over water for bats (one was filmed for BBC) Inside Out programme). In 2002 I surveyed the remaining 40% The scope of the surveys was to identify bird communities as well as interesting habitats on the network. I also undertook 10 bat surveys of bridges over water, including the rivers Mole, Colne, Darent, Ash, and Wey. The survey focused on Highways Agency (HA) target habitats and species and those considered to be of conservation concern. The HA target habitats were boundary features, grassland, heathland water and woodland. The western side of the M25 – Surrey to Bucks - is a watery landscape, with good quality grassland and from the M3 to the M1 there are some interesting architectural structures The western a...