If you are looking to get involved in bat monitoring in Northern Ireland, there are a number of surveys run by Bat Conservation Ireland and Northern Ireland Bat Group as well as BCT, which are supported by CEDaR.
There are several ongoing surveys that you may be interested in participating in:
- Summer Roost Count – this does not require prior experience (run by BCT).
- Daubenton’s Waterways Survey – this detector survey is great for beginners (run by Bat Conservation Ireland). Free training is provided.
- Car-based Bat Monitoring – no prior experience is necessary but there is limited deployment across the province (run by Bat Conservation Ireland). Equipment and training provided.
- BATLAS 2020 – these surveys are suitable for individuals with some bat detector experience (run by Bat Conservation Ireland). Free training across the province in 2017 and 2018.
- Hibernation Survey – suitable for licensed bat workers (run by BCT). You can sign up here if you already know of sites you can monitor, or contact NIBG to find out how to get involved in hibernation surveys in NI.
- Bat Box Surveys – suitable for licensed bat workers. Contact NIBG.
