AN ENVIRONMENTAL expert has been getting close to nature, by the side of a busy North Yorkshire motorway.

Richard Stephenson, Highways Agency environmental manager for Yorkshire and the Humber, encountered a kestrel at New Inn Farm off the A1M.

They were at the site, between York and Harrogate, for the regional launch of the Highways Agency's new action plan to help wildlife on the agency's land over the next ten years.

Kestrels are just one of the types of wildlife to be seen over the region's road network - though this one was a guest from the Sion Hill Hall falconry centre near Thirsk.

The farm has a special pond, one of four on the Walshford-Dishforth stretch of the A1 used to catch and filter run-off water from the motorway.

The pond, known as a balancing pond, is also designed to provide an environmentally-friendly habitat for waterfowl, other birds, and plants. Swans, herons, coots and oystercatchers are just some of the bird species recently observed, and fish have also seen in at least one of the ponds.

The biodiversity action plan shows how the agency is protecting and encouraging wildlife - including building tunnels for badgers and bridges for otters - and sets out future targets to encourage wildlife, ranging from newts to water voles, butterflies to bats.

Agency chief executive Tim Matthews said: "Protecting and enhancing the environment is an increasingly important role for the Highways Agency, and we have a strong track record in environmental management."

Updated: 08:34 Wednesday, March 20, 2002