Members' Winter Programme 2012

Thursday 17th November

Our year in Bernwood – Matt Dodds

Thursday 15th December

What can Vets do for bat casualties? – Andrew Routh

Andrew Routh is the head of the veterinary dept at the Zoological Society of London. As well as working on exotic species Andrew has extensive experience of working with native wild animals. He also helped to establish the Bat Conservation Trust over 20 years ago. Some of you will have heard him speak at the national bat care event in Wales earlier in the year and will know what an engaging speaker he is with a wealth of knowledge. Andrew will be taking us through the issues involved in the medical treatment of bats.

Thursday 12th January

Bats and Windfarms – Hannah Bilston

The impacts of wind turbines on bat populations is a pertinent and contentious matter. With more wind turbines being planned and built it is important that as people interested in bat conservation we are aware of the issues involved. Hannah has been doing a lot of work on the subject recently including a presentation to this year's national ‘Renewables UK' conference. She will be taking us through the topic and particularly discussing the research, survey methodologies and the currently proposed mitigation for wind farms. This should not only be interesting but very useful on a professional level.

The largest Greater Horseshoe Bat roost in western Europe! – Julia Clark

Julia has been a member of our group for several years now but has recently moved down to Devon. She has thrown herself into bat work in the area and has had the amazing experience of being invited to monitor the largest Greater Horseshoe Bat roost in northern Europe. It is a truly spectacular site – I know this because I was lucky enough to visit in the summer. Julia will be explaining about the site and the population it contains, as well as explaining the history of its creation.

The extraordinary capabilities of bat echo-location - Brian Briggs

I have consistently been told how much you all enjoyed Brian's talk last year. I personally thought it was one of the most useful and interesting talks we have ever had, so I thought I would invite Brian back again this year. The advantage in asking Brian to give a talk is that he has about 50 odd to choose from! This year I have opted for a subject that should be absolutely fascinating. Brian will be taking us through the parameters and capabilities of bat echo-location and discussing amongst other things; target acquisition, localisation, ranging, inter- and intra-specific variation, Doppler shift, open/edge/clutter echolocation and auditory pathways. We all know that bats are amazing, and this talk will show you why.

Thursday 12th April

Bat boxes and social networks in Wytham Woods – Dr Dani Linton

Dani has been involved with NBBG for many years and has recently completed her PhD in bat activity patterns and habitat usage in farmland. One of the many batty distractions Dani got involved in during her studies was the bats at Wytham woods. She has been studying bat usage of the long running bird box project in the wood for the last 6 years. There are approximately 1200 boxes in the woods which are most frequently occupied by Daubies and Natterer's. By ringing these bats Dani has been able to investigate the social interactions of the bats in this extensive woodland, and it is a fascinating insight into bat ecology.

Thursday 10th May

Using CCTV to observe bat behaviour – Peter and Margaret Grimsey

You will all know the extraordinary ingenuity of Peter and Margaret. Whether it be making the best bat biscuits around, designing our amazing bat display or building their own bat flight cage, they are constantly inventing stuff to aid their enjoyment of bats. Some of you will have seen the fascinating behaviour they have captured via the camera they have installed in their own bat roost, but did you know that they have also installed a camera in the flight cage where they slow release their captive bats. This gives them an incredible insight into bat behaviour that is rarely observed. Join us for the last talk of the year where Peter and Margaret will be taking us through the footage – and hopefully handing out some bat biscuits, yum yum.