Written by Sophia Davies – BBatS Project Officer
I would like to introduce the British Bat Survey (BBatS), a relatively new national monitoring scheme run by the Bat Conservation Trust.
BBatS was established in 2024 to improve our understanding of regional bat population trends across Great Britain. Since its launch, we have aimed to survey 30–40 sites annually for every region to establish a robust baseline for long-term monitoring.
How does it work?
Survey sites consist of randomly generated 1 km squares, stratified by habitat type. Each square contains a suggested monitoring point within the target habitat. Participants are asked to deploy an AudioMoth as close as possible to this point and within the specified habitat, recording for two separate five-night periods during July. To ensure the scientific integrity of the survey, only the specific sites selected through the BBatS map can be surveyed.
Even though we are in July now, you may have time to participate this year. Please take a look at the available survey sites and consider whether you could take one on.
Gaining landowner permission can sometimes take a while, but it will mean the site is ready to be surveyed for next year. It is also still a great benefit to register your interest this year even if you don’t have the capacity this month.
Thank you so much to anyone who is able to get involved!