Surveys: Bats

Due to declining populations, all species of British bat are offered full protection under current legislation and therefore it is important to establish whether your development will disturb roost sites, flight paths or foraging grounds.

There are three types of survey generally used;

• Internal surveys (building inspections) identify signs of bat use. This can include locating droppings, feeding remains or identifying areas where bats could potentially be roosting. This type of survey can be conducted at any time in the year. If signs of bats are identified, or the site is considered to have the potential to be used by bats it is likely that follow up surveys will be required. This will usually be in the form of;

• Emergence surveys/Re-entry surveys identify whether bats are roosting in a particular location. Information such as species identification and roost type will be gathered during this type of survey.
• Activity Surveys establish how bats are using a site. Surveyors will look for foraging activity, social behaviour, and commuter routes amongst other bat activity. Emergence and activity surveys can only be conducted when bats are active, usually from May to October (inclusive).

The data gathered from these surveys will be analysed and used to develop site specific recommendations including whether a European Protected Species Licence is required for the development to continue.

Contrary to the commonly held perception, having bats at your development site does not usually mean the development must be abandoned. At BlueSky Ecology we provide innovative solutions that can enable bats and development to co-exist.