Taking part - experienced bat surveyors
Taking Part in Surveys
Experienced Bat Surveyors
If you have access to a bat detector and have some experience using it, then we need your help with our bat detector surveys. The simpler of these is the Waterway Survey which just requires you to count Daubenton's bats as they skim over the surface of the water. The Field Survey is for more experienced surveyors who are able to identify noctule, serotine, common pipistrelle and soprano pipistrelle in the field. If you have access to a frequency division detector (such as the Duet) and a digital recording device, you can take part in the Woodland Survey which focuses on the rare barbastelle. If you are interested in improving your skills we run bat detector workshops, so that volunteers can take part in our surveys.
If you know of any bat roosts in your area then you could also take part in the Colony Count. This involves standing outside a roost on two evenings in June and counting the bats as they emerge. Your bat detector skills can again be put to good use in verifying which species are present.
In addition, you might like to help us locate other roosts in your area by taking part in the Sunset / Sunrise Survey. This simply involves looking out for bats at dusk and/or walking a route of your choice just before sunrise to look for bats 'swarming' at roost entrances. But if you are good with a bat detector then we would prefer you to use your skills more fully and take part in the field surveys or colony counts.