The Devon Bat Conservation and Research Group’s Spring Training Sessions are about to get underway.
They start with a session on the morning of Saturday 11th March dealing with ‘Bat Identification’ (dead specimens and a photo id session) In the afternoon we will spend time creating GIS cards (cards summarising the key id features) for quick identification of all the British species.
On Sunday 12th March the morning session is a lecture session dealing with ‘Basic Bat Biology’. In the afternoon there is an id session on ‘Bat Droppings’ and the creation of a ‘droppings fan’, the individual ‘pages’ of which provide a means by which life size images of the droppings of British bats can be compared with droppings found ‘in the wild’. A great little tool which no consultant should be without!
On Saturday 18th March we will be thinking about where bats roost. In addition Colin Morris of the Vincent Wildlife Trust will give a talk on the uptake of bat boxes of different designs. Which are the most efficient boxes? In the afternoon we will be putting up a variety of woodcrete boxes in a woodland which hosts a population of female Bechstein’s bats (amongst other species).
On Sunday 19th March we will be visiting a hibernaculum in a Second World War pill box in Axminster and considering how it might be improved. In the late morning/early afternoon we will be using endoscopes to search for bats in frost cracks, crevices and a variety of tree holes.
On Sunday 26th March we will be having a series of ‘Flash Talks’ from various of the Group’s members covering a wide range of topics.
On Sunday 2nd April we will have an afternoon of Radio Tracking training – just in time for our emergence surveys. These involve harp trapping and mist netting and are aimed at those people wanting to eventually obtain their Class 3 and Class 4 Licences. We are currently studying the movement of Bechstein’s bats in the south- eastern part of the county.
There is no charge for any of this training to members of the Devon Bat Conservation and Research Group
Membership of the Group costs £10 for the calendar year 2017.
If you are interested in taking part in any of these training sessions please contact the DBC&RG’s trainer, Adrian Bayley (adrianbayley@btconnect.com) who will explain how to become a member of the Group.
Many thanks.
Adrian
Adrian Bayley
11 Greenclose Court
Colyton
Devon
EX24 6RG
Tel: 01297 551389