6th March 2021 Scottish Bat Workers Conference Online Priorities in Scotland
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6th March 2021 Scottish Bat Workers Conference Online
Priorities in Scotland
This session was chaired by Claudia Gebhardt, Scottish Bat Officer at BCT.
Claudia introduced this session as an opportunity to:
• Share views on the current priorities for bat conservation in Scotland; and
• Feedback ideas and thoughts on what BCT should be focusing its resources on; and
• Raise any issues or concerns.
Claudia highlighted this was not intended as a Q&A session. However, BCT staff were
available to respond, where appropriate.
Additionally, this year delegates were able to submit priorities in advance of the session
when they booked their conference place and via the BCT Events app during the day.
Discussion points were:
• Central ringing data scheme
• Baby and juvenile bat care
• Local authority consideration of bats in planning process
• IUCN Bat Steering Group COVID-19 Guidance
• SPCA policy around bats during pandemic
• Bat detector technology
• Issue of low [human] population density in Scotland and need to improve trend data
• Data from wind turbine study sites
• Skills exchange whilst everyone stuck at home
• Difficulties in contacting local bat group
• Train the trainer course online
• NatureScot review of licensing system for bats
Central ringing data scheme
Priority raised: Data sharing and central ringing data scheme (asked in advance via booking
form).
Response from BCT’s Head of Conservation Services, Lisa Worledge: We had hoped that
work would have begun in earnest last Autumn, but we have had capacity issues at BCT.
However, we are making progress again now. Thanks to the generosity of bat groups and
some individual bat ringers we have received/have pledged the funding we need to develop
the database and a set of ringing guidelines. We are also very grateful to those ringers who
have already offered help with aspects of the project. The invitation to tender for the new
database should be issued in October. We will be in contact with everyone that has
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Updated 15/09/21contributed to the project/offered to be directly involved with an update very soon and with
all bat ringers soon after so please watch this space.
Baby and juvenile bat care
Priority raised: Baby and juvenile bat care (asked in advance via booking form).
Response from BCT’s Bat Care Network Coordinator, Laura Brown: The person who raised
this priority wasn’t clear about what aspect of baby and juvenile bat care they were
interested in. I assume it is training, in which case we can organise a workshop on caring for
baby bats and for juveniles at the 2022 Spring into Action event. In the meantime, there is
an interesting article on the BCT Bat Care Bulletin about ‘Bat pups and bat care’ that can be
found online at: https://ukbatcarenetwork.wordpress.com/2021/06/24/bat-pups-and-bat-
care/ and there is also specific information in the second edition of the Bat Care Guidelines
available to download from the BCT website at:
https://www.bats.org.uk/resources/resources-for-bat-carers/rehabilitation-basics. Another
excellent resource is the Bat Rescue Manual, written by Maggie and Bryan Brown. There is a
fee for the manual. For more information or if you'd like to order a copy, please contact
Maggie and Bryan at: batcarenews@phonecoop.coop.
Local authority consideration of bats in planning process
Priority raised: How to increase Local Authority awareness/understanding of bat legislation
and how to consider appropriately in planning. Some areas are great but there is a
noticeable lack of bat survey requirement in some areas and examples of bad practice such
as conditioning bat surveys (asked in advance via booking form).
Further discussion during priorities session: Scottish Wildlife Trust (SWT) in Stirling area
monitor all planning applications and get back to Striling Council about them. Could the
Scottish Bat Officer make contact with SWT and ask which branches of SWT do this and
suggest link with local bat group that they can contact if they want to. Local SWT were
commended for doing this. A delegate who works for SWT thought that whether local
planning is monitored would be down to local SWT groups.
Response from BCT’s Scottish Bat Officer, Claudia Gebhardt: SWT have a group of planning
volunteers and they only have capacity for the most urgent and substantial planning cases
and the SWT Stirling Group has justifiably earned a good reputation for its planning work.
They are probably the most active SWT Group regarding this.
Other SWT Groups who are active in planning matters are: Central Borders, Fife, Ayrshire &
Lothians. The SWT volunteers generally restrict themselves in planning matters affecting
SWT reserves but local volunteers can choose to respond on other matters if they wish.
Unless they choose to involve the SWT headquarters (HQ) staff in the response, they have
autonomy in the content of those responses. In matters of national importance, staff at HQ
will get heavily involved, but otherwise there are restricted capacities within the
organisation.
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Updated 15/09/21If your bat group is interested in and information exchange with the SWT groups active in
planning, please contact the Scottish Bat Officer (cgebhardt@bats.org.uk) who can put you
in touch with the relevant SWT Group Secretary.
IUCN Bat Steering Group COVID-19 Guidance
Priority raised: Suggestion that the conference delegates are made aware of the IUCN
guidelines when handling bats and entering a roost area in light of COVID-19 and the risk of
virus infection human – bat (asked in advance via booking form).
Response from BCT’s Head of Conservation Services, Lisa Worledge: The IUCN BSG
guidance on COVID-19 for field work is available on their website (see:
https://www.iucnbsg.org/bsg-publications.html) and when documents are updated
information is shared with bat groups via the BCT Bat Group Bulletin (see:
https://www.bats.org.uk/resources/resources-for-bat-groups/bat-group-bulletin for last 12-
months of bulletins) and occasional special edition bulletins (see:
https://www.bats.org.uk/resources/resources-for-bat-groups/bat-group-bulletin/special-
edition-bat-group-bulletins). In addition details of the specific guidelines for bat
rehabilitators are shared with bat carers via the BCT Bat Care Bulletin (see:
https://ukbatcarenetwork.wordpress.com/). We also try to share links on Facebook groups
such as UK Bat Workers and Facebook Bat Rehabilitators.
It is essential that we continue to take appropriate precautions to minimize any risk of
human to bat transmission of SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) when handling
bats or working in close proximity to them. In line with IUCN BSG guidance this includes
“wearing masks and gloves when handling bats, regularly disinfecting equipment that comes
in contact with bats, and minimizing time in contact/proximity with bats.” This requirement
is going to be with us for the foreseeable future to protect bats. We hope it will become as
second nature as wearing gloves to reduce the risk from rabies should be.
SPCA policy around bats during pandemic
Priority raised: SPCA now have a policy of not taking in bats at all. Spoken to an SPCA officer
about this, explained about at helpline and bats in houses Nature Scot helpline. General need
for improved communication. Believed to be due to COVID-19 (but are there other animals
not taking in?).
Response from BCT’s Head of Conservation Services, Lisa Worledge: I am delighted to say
that we had contact from the SSPCA as a result of this issue being raised at the conference
(thank you to the SSPCA member who reached out for us). We have meeting organised with
relevant people from the SSPCA and BCT in late September and will provide an update after
that.
Bat Detector Technology
Priority raised: Bat detector technology (asked in advance via booking form).
Response from BCT’s Monitoring Manager, Philip Briggs: The person who raised this
priority wasn’t clear about what aspect of bat detector technology they were particularly
wanting to discuss.
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Updated 15/09/21There are a wide variety of detectors available and information about the range of
technologies can be found on the BCT website at: https://www.bats.org.uk/about-bats/bat-
detectors-1.
BCT is currently piloting new monitoring projects using the latest acoustic monitoring
technology. See https://www.bats.org.uk/our-work/national-bat-monitoring-
programme/passive-acoustic-surveys. These will complement the long-running NBMP
surveys which tend to use heterodyne bat detectors which was the main technology
available to volunteers when the programme began in 1996. The new projects are our first
GB-wide passive acoustic monitoring projects, currently utilising AudioMoths since the low
cost of these full spectrum detectors helps facilitate their widespread use. We have been
working with partners including UCL to develop a sound classification system enabling
participants to upload their recordings to the cloud where they are processed by algorithms
which separate bat calls from other noise and then classify them to species level as far as
possible. The surveys we are currently piloting include NightWatch, the British Bat Survey
and the Forest Bat Survey (in conjunction with Forestry England and Forest Research).
Issue of low [human] population density in Scotland and need to improve
trend data
Priority raised: Scotland and low population densities - increasing coverage to improve trend
data. New technology is a game changer and a new NBMP survey is about to be launched.
With the potential changes to species legislation caused by Brexit, it is extremely important
we have the data to go to politicians with and ensure continued bat protection. Extremely
important call at this time.
Response from BCT’s Scottish Bat Officer, Claudia Gebhardt: The use of new technology for
bat research is indeed a potential game changer. For this reason, BCT has commenced a
new pilot project called ‘NightWatch’ in Glasgow (as well as parts of England), during which
participants are provided an Audiomoth bat detector. The NightWatch volunteers can
deploy the bat detector at a location of their choice for one night and the detectors are
programmed to record bat sound. At the same time observations are made for one hour
after sunset, noting any other wildlife present (e.g. foxes, rats, roe deer etc.). The recorded
data from the bat detectors will be analysed by an algorithm and results fed back to
volunteers as well as made accessible for data analysis. If the project pilot is successful, BCT
will look into broadening the geographical coverage of the project and try and reach areas
of low population densities within Scotland in the future.
Bat groups interested in recording bats in remote locations can also contact me
(cgebhardt@bats.org.uk) and see if we have any equipment available (e.g. remote bat
detectors).
Data from wind turbine study sites
Priority raised: Is data from wind turbine study sites being shared? A huge pool of records as
they come through the planning process, large amount of bat data on previously uncovered
parts of Scotland.
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Updated 15/09/21Response from BCT’s Scottish Bat Officer, Claudia Gebhardt: The answer to this is
technology again. NatureScot is encouraging consultancies to share any data that goes
through the planning process, but the issue often is data confidentiality. There is a system
that has been developed by the Mammal Society, called Ecobat, which is currently being
updated to a new version. Any data collected for wind farm developments (and other static
bat detector data) can be added to the online database. The resolution of the data can be
set to low (e.g. 10km squares), if confidentiality requires this. There is a document that
consultants can share with their clients to say how data is protected. The use of Ecobat is
also encouraged by NatureScot, often as part of the scoping response within the planning
process. The advantage of Ecobat is that an algorithm can use the data present in the
database from surrounding wind farms and produce an output showing absolute and
relative bat activity levels for each species based on the geographical location. This means
that there is a benefit regarding data output for the consultants and their clients and it
makes activity data comparable between different sites.
Ecobat provided us with some statistics about the current version:
• there are over 600 users registered on Ecobat;
• over 450 of these users have used Ecobat in the last 3 years; the new Ecobat
database will contain over 350,000 individual records and of these over 57,000 are
from Scotland (at 08/09/21) - the database will continue to grow as people upload
their records.
In addition, the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM) has
produced ‘Guidelines for Accessing, Using and Sharing Biodiversity Data in the UK’ which
includes the following section:
“8. PROVISION OF BIODIVERSITY DATA TO LERCS
8.1. It is expected that following the completion of surveys, all relevant biodiversity data
obtained will be submitted to the relevant LERCs and other groups as appropriate, unless
the client has expressly refused permission for this. A statement to this effect should be
included in the consultants’ Terms and Conditions. Data can be submitted direct to the
LERC. Note that where a protected species licence is required, submission of such data by
the stated deadline is a requirement of the licence.”
Source: https://cieem.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Guidelines-for-Accessing-and-
Using-Biodiversity-Data-March-2020.pdf page 13
Skills exchange whilst everyone stuck at home
Priority raised: Sharing ideas whilst still stuck at home. We can still have skills exchange and
still talk to each other – please keep ideas and suggestions coming. Suggestion made for
session for those training for bat licence, other online events and activities. Could we have a
fortnightly slot and some suggested topics for people from Scottish Bat Groups to get
together and discuss? Great potential, given expertise across bat groups, excellent scope for
sharing skills and knowledge.
Response from BCT’s Scottish Bat Officer, Claudia Gebhardt: I am keen to hear about
training needs and any other requests for what bat groups would like to have in terms of
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Updated 15/09/21support from the Scottish Bat Project over the next couple of years, ideas for skills
exchange, etc.
This question at the forum inspired the creation of a regular online meet-up of bat groups
around British Islands during which different topics proposed by participants are discussed.
The meetups are called ‘Bat Group Mingle’ and details of topics discussed can be found on
our website here: https://www.bats.org.uk/resources/resources-for-bat-groups/bat-group-
mingle
Difficulties in contacting local bat group
Priority raised: Delegate trying to contact their local bat group but not getting through on
website enquires.
Response from BCT’s Scottish Bat Officer, Claudia Gebhardt: We identified the local group
concerned during the session and put the person in contact with people attending from that
group. Contact information for bat groups is on the BCT website at:
https://www.bats.org.uk/support-bats/bat-groups with links to bat group websites where
they have their own. If people do have difficulties in making contact with their local bat
group then please do email me (cgebhardt@bats.org.uk) or Liz when she returns from
maternity leave later in the year (eferrell@bats.org.uk) and we’ll do what we can to help.
Bat groups are all run by volunteers so it may take longer to hear back during the busier
times of year.
Train the trainer course online
Priority raised: Is there scope to run a train the trainers course online or via distance
learning?
Response from BCT’s Scottish Bat Officer, Claudia Gebhardt: I ran a train the trainer course
(covering ‘Discover your local bats’ and parts 1 and 2 of the NBMP survey training) for the
North East Scotland Bat Group, including three participants (which is the minimum number
for running the course). Any bat group interested in putting volunteers forward to get
trained as trainers for new NBMP volunteers can get in touch with me
(cgebhardt@bats.org.uk), or Liz when she returns from maternity leave later in the year
(eferrell@bats.org.uk). Please do also take a look at the various online courses that BCT is
running: https://www.bats.org.uk/our-work/training-and-conferences
NatureScot review of licensing system for bats
Priority raised: Asked whether there was anyone from NatureScot attending the conference
who would like to comment on the NatureScot review of licensing system for bats?
Response from Beth Wilson at NatureScot: NatureScot are not currently planning a review
of bat licensing in Scotland or anticipating any changes. We are in the process of developing
an online application process for licensing which will include bat licensing. BLIMP licensing
continues to be rolled out, and we would encourage any ecologist who regularly carries out
bat work in Scotland and meets the criteria for this licence, to apply. It considerably speeds
up the process of applying to carry out licensed work which will affect non-breeding or
hibernating roosts of common and soprano pipistrelle bats.
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