Bat Surveying and Bat Care

Bat Surveying

We have several bat species locally and are concerned about their long term survival.
La Société Guernesiaise’s Bat Section conducts roost site surveys to track population size and breeding success. They carry out maternity roost site counts in June and early July.
At other times of the year they survey caves and underground tunnels to establish where bats are hibernating and swarming.
If you would like to get involved or have seen bats coming out of your roof, please email the Bat Section.

Contact

The Current Secretary is Charles Hurford

2017 Survey Highlights

Greater Horseshoe Bats

Some of the very first results from 2017 were very exciting.
Our recorders picked up evidence of greater horseshoe bats which haven’t been seen in Guernsey since the 1960’s!

You can listen to the call here: Compare this to a call that has not been slowed down:

Wildlife Sound Recording · Greater Horseshoe Bat

Common Pipistrelle Bats

Common pipistrelle bats were also recorded during the same night.

As you can see from the sound profile image and audio track below, they sound very different.

Common pipistrelle, *Pipistrellus pipistrellus* being cared for by licensed bat carer Jane Gilmour

The common pipistrelle bat *Pipistrellus pipistrellus* is very small. Sounds produced by common pipistrelles are above the range of human hearing with the exception of social calls, which children and some adults with good hearing may hear. The frequencies used by this species for echolocation lie between about 45 and 70 kHz. The calls sound like a series of clicks towards the top of this range, turning into slaps with the deepest sounding slap being heard at about 45 kHz, the peak intensity of the call.

You can listen to the call here:

Injured Bats and Rehabilitation

If you find an injured bat please contact the GSPCA. Bat care must be provided by trained and licenced bat carers.
The Bat Conservation Trust provides step by step instructions for immediate care.
Check out the videos below to see some bats who were successfully rehabilitated.
These bats were looked after by Jane Gilmour, a licenced bat carer and previous manager of the GBRC. You can watch the pipistrelle bat learning how to fly and a long-eared bat grooming itself while hanging.