South East of England Bat Conference
Skills development workshop
"I had an amazing time today" Conference Delegate 2022
The South East of England Bat Conference is an opportunity for volunteer and professional bat workers in the South East to spend time together updating their knowledge, sharing best practice, developing their skills and catching up on the latest 'bat chat'. The day will include a mixture of short and long talks on projects or sharing new knowledge and a choice of practical workshops. There will also be latest news from bat groups shared in the event app, and plenty of time for catching up with batty friends or making some new batty acquaintances.
This one-day event is open to everyone, with the programme being created from input from the South East of England and the Channel Islands. The area covered is: Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Greater London, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey, Sussex and the Channel Islands.
The recent South East Regional Conference was on 22 March 2025, at the University of Surrey and online via zoom. The next will be Spring 2028.
Interested in co-sponsoring or being part of the exhibition? Email nwebster@bats.org.uk to discuss the opportunities.
Programme for the Southeast Regional Bat Conference 2025
Thanks to our sponsor
- Assessing migration of bat species and interactions with offshore wind farms in British Waters - Jack Hooker, BCT.
- The Bailiwick Bat Survey: Four Years of Baseline Data for the Bats of Guernsey, Sark and Alderney - Matt Lewis, Alderney Wildlife Trust.
- BCT update - Joe Nunez-Mino, BCT.
Morning workshop session
Vegetarian buffet lunch
Afternoon workshop session
- A review of known autumn swarming sites in Surrey - Ross Baker & Lynn Whitfield, Surrey Bat Group
- Motus tagging results from Bedfont Lakes Nathusius Research Project - Patty Briggs, Bedfont Lakes Nathusius Research Project.
- Horseshoes Heading East - Daniel Hargreaves, Vincent Wildlife Trust.
Raffle and close
Workshop information
Virtual tickets do not need to book workshops, on the day you can choose between 'Bat ID' and 'Horseshoe bat mitigation' in the morning, and 'Understanding the principles and techniques of recording bats' and 'Advanced Thermal Imaging Techniques for Ecologists' in the afternoon.
It is important for in-person delegates to attend the workshop they have booked. Changing without checking with a member of BCT staff can lead to overfull workshops and others running when not viable.
Morning Workshops
When booking your in-person ticket, you can choose one of the following 90-minute workshops to attend:
- Bat ID - Daniel Whitby, AEWC Ltd.
- Advanced sound analysis - Philip Briggs, BCT.
This workshop will look at the theory of signal processing, tips on making more precise measurements when analysing bat sounds, and species identification including some more unusual/challenging calls. Techniques will be demonstrated in Anabat Insight, BatSound, Kaleidoscope and Sonobat. Although some knowledge of sound analysis is helpful this workshop will also have information included for beginners. - Horseshoe bat mitigation - Daniel Hargreaves, VWT.
As horseshoe bat numbers start to recover small colonies are being discovered outside of their strongholds. Through decades of research, VWT have a suite of conservation interventions that can be applied in built structures for both horseshoe species to create optimal roosts and support the species expansion. Available on zoom but there is a hands-on element at the end. - Advanced Thermal Imaging Techniques for Ecologists - Andrew Milner & Jethro Block, Thermal Vision Ecology.
Thermal Vision Ecology is the only company in the UK devoted to providing tailored solutions for ecologists. Discover how their advanced software features, including flight tracking and event detection, streamline post-survey analysis and empower ecologists with data grounded in empirical evidence. This is also a fantastic opportunity to pose any questions you may have to industry experts regarding thermal imaging in ecology.
Afternoon Workshops
When booking your in-person ticket, you can choose one of the following 90-minute workshops to attend:
- Landscaping for bats, biodiversity and people - Jo Ferguson, BCT.
Join Jo Ferguson Built Environment Manager at BCT for a look at the key landscape design principles can be used to create spaces that benefit both biodiversity and people, with a focus on bats as a bio-indicator species. - Introduction to advanced survey techniques - Daniel Whitby, AEWC Ltd.
- Infrared video for bat surveys: pushing the limits - Adrian Bicker.
A “how to" session, sharing knowledge to achieve the high-quality results. The principles of lighting a building are a major factor in achieving success and apply to all of us. - Understanding the principles and techniques of recording bats - Martyn Cooke.
The workshop will cover the physics of sounds applied to bioacoustics, recording techniques to survey bats, tips on how to place the detector to record good quality bat calls, and the importance of bat call libraries.
Previous conference
The previous conference was held in November 2022 in Crawley and via zoom.
The programme included talks on the Sussex Bat Appeal and the rewilding work at the Knepp Estate, Bechstein's in Chiddingfold Forest, the West Berks Living Landscape, and bats at RHS Wisley. There was a variety of workshops, with something to suit all experience levels, such as gardening for bats and wildlife, bat detectors, sound analysis, bat care, mist and harp trapping techniques, infra-red video, and tagging and tracking planning. If you'd like to see the full programme click here.
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