Read the latest project update here: Barbastelle project update – August 2016 and for an outline of the project: Notts Barbastelle Project 2016 Summary
The barbastelle bat was first recorded in Nottinghamshire in 2011 in a woodland on the banks of the River Trent. Recordings made with a time expansion detector confirmed the identification of at least one foraging bat. Later the same year another recording was made approximately five miles away from the first location in open habitat which suggested a commuting bat. Since then recordings have been made on the other side of the county on the border with Derbyshire. No evidence of a breeding population has been found.
The barbastelle has a broadly southern distribution in Britain with the most northerly [current] colony records being from central Lincolnshire. However, this relatively wide distribution in England belies its status as a rare bat species as colonies are sparsely distributed within the landscape and absent from many areas of the country. The purpose of this project, to be undertaken by research volunteers from local bat conservation groups, is to add to the existing limited knowledge of the distribution and conservation status of the barbastelle bat Barbastella barbastellus in Nottinghamshire and the surrounding area.
The widespread distribution of these recent bat detector records indicates that the barbastelle, which is a ‘moth specialist’, is at least transiently resident within and immediately surrounding Nottinghamshire. However, detailed knowledge of its distribution and status as a resident bat species is significantly lacking and any information on its status as a breeding bat species within the county is entirely absent.
The project primarily intends to undertake the following:
• Further the existing limited knowledge of the distribution of the barbastelle in Nottinghamshire and the immediately surrounding area;
• Establish if a breeding colony of barbastelle is present within the county and / or its immediate environs, and approximately where, or whether it is only a transiently occurring species; and
• Provide basic information on any habitat or geographic associations of this species within and surrounding the county.
We are using a variety of survey methods including static bat detectors, walked detector transects, trapping using mist nets and harp traps and endoscope surveys of trees.
The project is licensed by Natural England, the Statutory Nature Conservation Organisation (SNCO) for wildlife matters and legislation in this country under Science, Education and Conservation Project reference 2015-7080-SCI-SCI.
Picture by Laura Hammerton