Sleeping Batties

Bookkeeper Jane Collett tells us about her first bat outing, where she helped out with a hibernation survey in a disused London tube tunnel..

10.00 - I’m ridiculously excited about today’s hibernation count. Although I joined the Bat Conservation Trust in May, as part-time bookkeeper I had not managed to attend any bat events up until now. The meeting point isn’t far from home so this is a great opportunity. Excitement is tinged with trepidation, as I’m quite claustrophobic and spending hours locked in a dark tunnel isn’t usually my idea of fun…

11.15 - Set off to walk through some woods to our rendezvous. It’s a raw January day and I’m dressed in so many layers I feel like the Michelin Man.

12.15 - We’re ready to start - a mix of Bat Conservation Trust staff, friends and local bat enthusiasts as well as members of the London Bat Group. I’m joined by my friend Wayne, a keen naturalist, who lives nearby. Cindy Blaney of London Bat Group, briefs us. Previous surveys of the two disused railway tunnels have found mainly Natterer’s, some Daubenton’s and a single brown long-eared bat. Then we’re off on the short walk to the tunnels’ entrance. I’ve looked down on them from the main road hundreds of times, but have never seen them from this perspective. We divide into two groups. Nine Bat Conservation Trust staff and friends go with Philip Briggs from the National Bat Monitoring Programme. Philip explains likely places to find bats. On the tunnel walls, there are “crusts” of sooty deposits from when trains used to pass through, and bats hibernate in spaces where these are peeling away; there are also a number of bat bricks in the walls. Five of us slowly work our way along one side of the tunnel, five along the other. We have to walk carefully as there’s rubble in places, and railway sleepers to negotiate. I realise that my torch, which seemed pretty good at home, is really puny in this vast dark space. It isn’t long before the first bat is found, a Natterer’s, in a bat brick. It’s great to see it, and we gather round to take a look. Soon there’s another discovery, another Natterer’s, this time behind one of the crusts. For long periods we work in silence, the only sounds our footsteps and the rumble of tube trains. I’m at the end of the line of surveyors and at one point think I’ve found a bat not previously spotted. It’s possible to see much more of this bat – the length of its wing, part of its white front and its face. It’s beautiful. Although it turns out that the bat has already been counted, I’m still thrilled.

14:00 - We leave the tunnels, having found six Natterer’s bats in our tunnel – a disappointing number compared to previous years. But I’ve really enjoyed the experience and feel very privileged as you can only enter a bat’s roost if you are accompanied by someone with a special licence.It’s getting pretty cold, despite all the layers, and several of us retire to the local pub to warm up.

(Please note it is illegal to enter a bat hibernation roost unless accompanied by a licenced bat worker)


National Bat Monitoring Programme The Bat Conservation Trust runs a number of nationa and annual surveys through a volunteer network to monitor the status of many of our bat species across a range of habitats. Our surveys form the National Bat Monitoring Programme through which we track changes in bat populations. Monitoring bats is essential as over the last 60 years it would seem that many of our bat species have declined dramatically. The data collected allows us to: •Assess the conservation needs of the UK's 18 species of bat •Identify any rapid declines •Select conservation priorities and inform conservation policy •Ensure limited resources are directed to where they are most needed. If your are interested in finding out more about becoming a NBMP volunteer, please email Felicity Bates (fbates@bats.org.uk).

Winter Slumberland

Where do bats go in the winter? Kelly Gunnell looks for the answer in Scotland...


Going looking for bats in the winter seems like a fool’s task. It is common knowledge that bats just disappear at this time of year, to magically appear in the spring time. In this information age where we seem to know the answer to almost everything (or at least can find it in a few clicks); it seems absurd that we still don’t know where bats go to hibernate. The standing assumption is that the bats go to underground sites. Yet they are never found in these areas in the numbers to account for their summer population sizes.
Although, it is a rare thing to find hibernating bats, it is possible. While in Scotland recently for the Scottish Bat Worker’s Conference, I set out with local bat experts, Anne Youngman and John Haddow for a little batty adventure.

Our first stop was Doune Castle, made famous in the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail. This medieval castle near Stirling, is made up of grey stone blocks framing a courtyard, with stunning views of snow-capped hills and golden-leaved woodland. In our search for bats I expected us to go down into some dungeon or dark cellar. But no, we found our first hibernating bats tucked into the crevices of the busy, well-lit, entrance tunnel! Why is it that bats never stick to the rules? Someone should give them a manual….
Peering into the jigsaw puzzle stone cracks, I felt a child-like glee. This was just like hunting for brown furry Easter eggs! We found about 6 pipistrelles in the entrance tunnel and adjoining rooms. But it was in one of the side cellars that we got our biggest surprise. Anne spotted two bats in the high arched ceiling and somehow could tell from that distance that they were not pips. At first, Anne and John thought they could be Daubenton’s but eventually decided that they were Natterers. What a treat!

The next stop on our bat adventure was Aberfoyle Tunnel. This is a disused quarry tunnel that John regularly checks for hibernating bats. With hard-hat, head-lamp and wellies I felt very Indiana Jones wading into the cold dark cave. Even with three people scanning the low ceiling for bats, we still nearly missed our bat. Anne’s sharp eyes spotted the lone brown long-eared hanging crystal like from the grey rock. I was thrilled to see how it tucked its ears under its wings so that only the pointy tragus sticks out. John explained that they keep their long ears under their wings to keep them moist. We didn’t find any other bats in the tunnel; apparently January and February are the best time to find hibernating bats there and even then it will only be about a half dozen.
It was a real privilege to see these few lone bats. Thanks to Anne and John for a great Scottish bat adventure.
In the meantime, the mystery of bats in winter awaits another explorer to unravel its secrets...

Kelly Gunnell
Bats and Built Environment Officer

While bats sleep our NBMP team are hard at work

Hard to spot: a sleepy looking Daubenton's bat peers out from a crevice

(image: John Altringham)

Right now it's certainly a quiet time for bats, writes Sarah Ford of BCT's National Bat Monitoring Team. They’re currently in hibernation and licensed surveyors have been busy visiting hibernation sites over the last couple of months.

The surveyors' results are starting to come in so we’ll soon have an idea of how many bats and which species have been spotted. The most commonly encountered species in hibernation sites are Natterer’s bats, Daubenton’s bats, lesser horseshoe bats and brown long-eared bats. Rare species found include barbastelles, Bechstein’s bats and the UK’s one and only greater mouse-eared bat!

The UK’s most common species, the pipistrelles, are conspicuous by their virtual absence, as they tend to roost in nooks and crannies in trees and buildings rather than open structures that surveyors are able to explore. It’s not always an easy task finding the bats as they tend to hide away in tiny gaps and crevices, making them very difficult to spot!

Unfortunately, this quiet period for bats doesn’t quite translate into quiet time for the NBMP team! We’ve been using this time to compile our survey results from 2008 in order to produce bat trends for the UK. It’s also the build up to the busy summer survey season so we’re in the process of speaking to volunteers and confirming which surveys they’re interested in taking part in. We’ll soon be preparing the survey packs, and making sure everything is in place for the summer.

The only thing we can’t prepare for is the weather, so fingers crossed that it’s sunny and dry this year!

If you’re interested in taking part in an NBMP survey this summer please contact me or visit our website for more information. You can also see survey and species maps for our 2007 and 2008 results, all thanks to our many volunteers.

Hello and welcome!

Hello and welcome to BCT's new blog! Okay, so there's not much going on right now -- our batty blogs are still in hibernation, as it were -- but that's all set to change as we head into spring. Stay tuned for some exciting blog-ness from the bat world!

PS. In the meantime, why not send a batty e-card from our website? You can check us out on Facebook and twitter too.

(Ultrasonic brown long-eared: Steve Parker)