Bat Activity Surveys

These are surveys designed to assess the bat activity within any given area, they are especially useful for finding foraging areas and commuting routes to and from roosts. 

Activity surveys are seasonally restricted and can only be undertaken between March and September.

Foraging and commuting bats are recorded by surveyors using bat detectors, converting ultrasound calls to sounds audible to the human ear. All calls are recorded and identified to species or species group using the call parameters found in Jon Russ's British Bat Calls: A guide to species identification.

An activity survey by The Wildlife Survey Unit would identify the following:

• The presence or absence of bats, the species and estimate of numbers
• The location of important foraging areas
• The line of important commuting routes
• Actions needed to be taken to ensure legal compliance

It is possible for large amounts of data to be recorded using static surveys, these are undertaken using a bat detector left in a certain position for long periods of time. These record large amounts of data for very little effort.

All calls recorded during activity surveys are recorded using either Batsound or Analook sound analysis software.