Woodland Survey
Survey period
25th July to 7th September
How to take part
Surveyors are asked to walk a 60-70 minute transect in a woodland of their choice. This survey focuses on the rare barbastelle bat and ideally the woodland should predominantly contain mature broad-leaved trees and also have water features. Continuous recordings are made using a frequency division bat detector attached to a mini-disc recorder or other digital recording device. The recordings are then analysed by BCT staff in order to identify and quantify the species that are present.
Other surveys
If you own a bat detector, but are not yet confident in using it to identify different species, you can still put it to good use by taking part in the Waterway Survey. 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 are interested in improving your skills we run bat detector workshops, so that volunteers can take part in our surveys. If you know of a bat roost near you then you might like to carry out a Colony Count or you could help find new roosts by taking part in the Sunset/Sunrise Survey.