Thermal Wildlife & Deer Population Surveys

Vista Metrics delivers non-invasive thermal wildlife surveys designed to help estates and land managers understand deer presence, relative numbers, and spatial distribution across parkland and managed woodland.

This service is built for:

• Evidence-based deer management planning

• Repeatable seasonal comparisons

• Defensible reporting (without claiming unrealistic “exact counts” in dense cover)

Outputs are designed to be usable internally and, where required, alongside ecology or forestry consultants.

Thermal surveys are typically commissioned when decision-makers need clearer evidence than ground observations alone.

Common drivers:

• Deer browsing pressure affecting woodland regeneration

• Need to justify management decisions with repeatable evidence

• Establishing baseline data for planning and habitat protection

• Reducing labour-intensive ground counting across large areas

• Improving visibility at dawn/dusk when deer activity is highest

Thermal adds value because it identifies animals by heat signature, improving detection in open ground and along woodland edges.

This service is commonly used for:

• Deer population assessment (count ranges + distribution mapping)

• Habitat use and corridor mapping (edges, rides, clearings)

• Baseline surveys for woodland/estate planning

• Seasonal monitoring (pre/post management, year-on-year comparison)

• Supporting evidence for ecology/forestry consultants (data capture partner)

If you need different species (e.g., foxes, livestock checks), this can be discussed — deer is the primary use-case.

Surveys are typically conducted at dawn or dusk to maximise thermal contrast.

Approach:

• Passive thermal observation only (no herding, no pursuit)

• Transect and block-based coverage focusing on:

  • Parkland/open ground

  • Woodland edges and rides

  • Known movement corridors

• Dense woodland interiors are treated as presence/activity indicators, not guaranteed detection zones

This keeps the method defensible and aligned with real-world visibility limits.

You receive a concise PDF report suitable for management use or inclusion in consultant packs.

Typical deliverables:

• Survey overview (date/time, conditions, method)

• Count ranges with confidence notes

• Distribution map / heat-map of detections

• Annotated still frames (timestamped)

• Key observations (movement, hotspots, corridors)

• Clear limitations statement (what can/can’t be concluded)

If you want a repeatable monitoring programme, reports can be standardised so comparisons are clean.

This service is designed to be non-invasive and welfare-aware.

• Operations conducted in accordance with UK CAA regulations

• Landowner permission agreed prior to survey

• Altitude and flight behaviour selected to minimise disturbance

• Surveys scheduled to avoid sensitive constraints where applicable

• Public-facing estates: approach and take-off locations planned to avoid visitor conflict

The goal is observation and evidence — not interference.

A pilot is the best starting point for most estates.

Typical pilot:

• One dawn or dusk session

• Focused coverage of high-value areas (parkland + edges)

• Provides a defensible baseline and confirms suitability

If the pilot proves value, we can scale to seasonal repeats or expanded blocks.

If relevant to your estate or portfolio, Vista Metrics can also support:

• Roof and asset condition inspections (RGB/thermal)

• Mapping & orthomosaics (baseline site documentation)

• Wind/industrial asset inspection

• Solar inspections

• FPV promotional flythroughs (visitor-facing assets only)

To request a pilot or discuss suitability, send:

• Site/estate name and rough area of interest

• Primary objective (baseline / monitoring / corridor mapping)

• Any access constraints or public opening hours

• Preferred timing window (dawn/dusk)

We’ll propose a practical scope and survey plan aligned to conditions and access.