The Jersey Bat Group are involved in a number of research initiatives including the Conservation biology of grey long eared bats, the Roost Register and the Woodland project.
In June 2011, Orly Razgour, PhD student of the University of Bristol, carried out a survey on grey long-eared bats (Plecotus austriacus) in Jersey. Orly visited six sites during her three day visit and offered a training session to the Jersey Bat Group about the conservation biology of these bats. This visit was very successful with grey long-eared females and males recorded, along with brown long-eared (Plecotus auritus) and the common pipistrelle (Pipistrellus). In September 2011, Orly presented her findings so far at the Bat Conservation Trust national conference at the University of Warwick.
The Roost Register project was started in 2014 thanks to a Countryside Enhancement Scheme grant. The initial project was conducted by Annyctalus Ecology, with the help of volunteers from the Bat Group, all known bat roosts were added on to a data base. This project is on going and as roosts are discovered or re-surveyed the database is updated. David Tipping was instrumental in designing much of the software for this project and it is proving to be an invaluable tool for registering our local roosts.
The Woodland bat survey was started in 2014 as a joint venture between the Jersey Bat Group and Collett Trust for Endangered Species, and phase 1 has been the erection of bat boxes in the island woodlands. Thanks to volunteers from the Bat Group, these boxes are checked at similar times each month and at the end of 2015 we had evidence of occupation of 5 of our boxes. We believe that the first bats were Nathusius Pipistrelles (or possibly Kuhl’s) through echolocation surveys. Common and Soprano were also recorded and droppings analysed as Common Pipistrelle. In late Dec we also discovered a Long-eared Bat occupying a box.
The next phase of the Woodland project is now in full action and bat research is being carried out by licenced personnel throughout spring/summer 2016. Already we have captured/ID’d/released 6 species of bat including a new species for Jersey – Myotis alcathoe.
If you care to contribute to our research the money will be well spent on equipment to help us discover more about our island’s bats.