HydroReturn is the tool for logging authorised lethal control sessions against an issued A06 licence. Per-bird records, photo evidence, quota tracking, and automatic generation of the Natural England return document at the end of the licence period. Access is granted individually to confirmed licence holders only.
Only licensed A06 operators. Specifically:
- The named licence holder on a Natural England Class Licence A06 (or equivalent)
- Authorised persons under that licence who have been granted access by the holder
If you're not a licence holder or a named authorised person, HydroReturn is not for you. The public-facing tools for cormorant recording are the Cormorant Report and, if invited, Roost Surveys.
- Licence holders request access by emailing info@hydroscape-group.co.uk with their licence reference, issuing body, and the waters covered
- Once verified, access is granted to the licence holder's MyHydroscape account
- The licence holder can then authorise additional users under the same licence
- Anyone without a grant who tries to access HydroReturn is bounced back to the Cormorant Report screen with a request-access prompt
The tool is deliberately separate from the general public flow. Lethal control records need a chain of custody that starts with verified identity.
Per session, per bird:
- Licence reference (auto-populated from your grant)
- Date and time of the action
- GPS location and what3words
- Per-bird records — count, species (cormorant / other specified species), age/sex if determinable
- Photo evidence — mandatory, one per bird
- Method — recorded as per licence conditions
- Authorised operator — who took the action
- Notes — any relevant context
Per session overall:
- Scene photos — wider context shots
- Weather and conditions
- Quota tracking — the tool tracks your usage against your licence's bird quota in real time
HydroReturn shows you:
- Quota used / remaining — how many birds you've taken against your licence limit
- Window status — whether you're inside or outside your licensed period
- Live warning — if you're approaching the end of your quota or window, the tool flags it
This isn't just a convenience — it's a compliance safeguard. The system will not accept a record that exceeds your quota or falls outside your licensed dates.
At the end of your licence period (or on request), HydroReturn generates a PDF return document in the format Natural England expects:
- Cover sheet with licence holder and reference
- Session summary with total birds taken
- Per-session breakdown with locations, dates, methods
- Photographic evidence appendix
- Chain-of-custody audit trail
The document is produced in minutes, not the fortnight it used to take to assemble by hand.
This is not like the sighting forms, so do not assume it behaves the same way. HydroReturn will not submit without signal. If you tap submit while you are offline it tells you to reconnect and nothing is sent. There is no queue: a return does not go off later on its own.
What is kept while you work is the session in front of you. Photos and the session you are part-way through are held on the device, so reloading the page or losing it for a moment does not cost you the work. That is as far as it goes.
So fill it in at the water if you like, including the GPS, which comes off the device and needs no signal. Then get back into signal and submit it before you close the page. A return is a legal obligation, so do not leave it sitting on the phone.