Islanders can now take part in Bailiwick bat survey
BAT Survey season starts today, with islanders across the Bailiwick being invited to become citizen scientists to study the local species.
After a successful year in 2021, people can select a 500 by 500 metre square from a map of the island, which they will then be asked to survey between now and October.
Volunteers will be given a bat detector kit containing all the equipment and instructions and to place the kit in their chosen square for a four-night period twice – once between April and mid-July and again at the same location between mid-July and the end of October.
The detector automatically records bat calls to a memory card every time a bat passes. After the four nights, volunteers can upload their recording to the bat survey website, returning the kit at the end of the survey.
The sounds will be matched to the species and people will receive the results within hours, as well as finding out how many small mammals and bush crickets were nearby during the period.
The survey aims to improve understanding of the distribution and activity of the various bat species in Guernsey, Herm, Alderney and Sark.
Last year the survey recorded 12 bat species, five small mammal species, six species of bush-crickets, and two audible moth species.
Among the bats were the first recordings of serotine bats for Guernsey, Alderney and Herm – one of the largest bats found in Britain, which can grow up to 8cm long.
The first Leisler’s bat, common noctule, lesser horseshoe bat and whiskered or Brandt’s bat were also found in Guernsey, and potentially the first records of grey long-eared bat for the islands of Herm, Sark, Jethou and Lihou.
Commissioned by the States’ Agriculture, Countryside and Land Management Services as part of the Strategy for Nature, the survey is co-ordinated by La Societe.
In the islands of Alderney and Sark the Alderney Wildlife Trust and La Societe Serquaise will co-ordinate the surveys.
Bat survey equipment can be obtained from ‘bat centres’ in the islands, with the Alderney Wildlife Trust, La Societe Serquaise, Guille-Alles Library, Sir Charles Frossard House and La Societe in Guernsey all taking on this roles this year.
Methods for the survey were devised by the British Trust for Ornithology, whose Phil Atkinson said the interest and uptake last year was incredible.
‘This year we are repeating the survey and are looking to fill some of the gaps from last year and also survey some of the rarer habitat types such as woodland and wetlands.’
Emily Coule from Agriculture, Countryside and Land Management Services said: ‘The first year of the Bailiwick Bat Survey has already provided us with so much useful information on a key group of species.
‘Bats act as indicators for the health of our wider environment, so collecting this data set is a key aspect of delivering the Strategy for Nature, as well as our fulfilling our commitments under the international convention “Eurobats”.’
The organisers were hoping for a similar level or response to last year.
n Anyone interested in taking part should go to www.bats.org.gg to find out more, and to reserve one 500-m square (or more) to survey. People with queries should email the co-ordinator at batsurvey@bats.org.gg.
