@wiltsbatgroup.bsky.social
Doing great stuff for Bat Conservation in south West England.
Reposted
Daubenton's bats are now entering hibernation a month earlier than 13 years ago without increasing fat reserves, highlighting shifting survival challenges linked to climate change. doi.org/g955mn
An unexpected reaction to climate change: Daubenton's bats are hibernating for longer
The days are getting shorter, the temperatures are dropping. Numerous animals are migrating south, others are seeking their hibernacula—including bats.
phys.org
October 8, 2025 at 5:12 PM
Daubenton's bats are now entering hibernation a month earlier than 13 years ago without increasing fat reserves, highlighting shifting survival challenges linked to climate change. doi.org/g955mn
Reposted
I’m too old and too male to be in the Rainbows, but as a result of some volunteering / educational outreach we did a couple of weeks ago on behalf of the @wiltsbatgroup.bsky.social I am now the very proud owner of a Rainbows “Bat activity” patch. It is deeply excellent.
October 6, 2025 at 7:52 AM
I’m too old and too male to be in the Rainbows, but as a result of some volunteering / educational outreach we did a couple of weeks ago on behalf of the @wiltsbatgroup.bsky.social I am now the very proud owner of a Rainbows “Bat activity” patch. It is deeply excellent.
Reposted
Ooh ooh ooh - TK Maxx in Swindon, a single pair of the most PERFECT wireless headphones for folks to use with Bat Detector on their iPhone. So anyone in the @wiltsbatgroup.bsky.social needs to get a move on to secure them - I left them REALLY visible :)
October 3, 2025 at 3:44 PM
Ooh ooh ooh - TK Maxx in Swindon, a single pair of the most PERFECT wireless headphones for folks to use with Bat Detector on their iPhone. So anyone in the @wiltsbatgroup.bsky.social needs to get a move on to secure them - I left them REALLY visible :)
Reposted
Who had the idea to build the expensive HS2 bat tunnel? Answer: HS2 Ltd. Who approved it? Parliament. Was it necessary to route the track through species-rich ancient woodland? No, as a strategic environmental assessment would have shown, had one been done. www.bats.org.uk/news/2025/04...
Throwing bats under the train: HS2’s bat tunnel and the dangerous spin behind deregulation - News - Bat Conservation Trust
HS2's so-called bat tunnel has become a political scapegoat, used to justify rolling back environmental protections. But the real story is very different. This page breaks down what the bat tunnel is,...
www.bats.org.uk
September 14, 2025 at 6:35 AM
Who had the idea to build the expensive HS2 bat tunnel? Answer: HS2 Ltd. Who approved it? Parliament. Was it necessary to route the track through species-rich ancient woodland? No, as a strategic environmental assessment would have shown, had one been done. www.bats.org.uk/news/2025/04...
Reposted
At the National Bat Conference we shared the trailer for season 7 of our podcast, BatChat. And now we get to share it with you all!
Returning on the 5 November.
Returning on the 5 November.
September 8, 2025 at 9:17 AM
At the National Bat Conference we shared the trailer for season 7 of our podcast, BatChat. And now we get to share it with you all!
Returning on the 5 November.
Returning on the 5 November.
While I'm on it, here is a round flat wasp nest in schwegler 1FF (not seen that before)
Noctule
Soprano pip wing
Jools and Anna doing box checks in the Cotswold Water park
@bct @wiltsbg
Noctule
Soprano pip wing
Jools and Anna doing box checks in the Cotswold Water park
@bct @wiltsbg
August 29, 2025 at 11:25 AM
While I'm on it, here is a round flat wasp nest in schwegler 1FF (not seen that before)
Noctule
Soprano pip wing
Jools and Anna doing box checks in the Cotswold Water park
@bct @wiltsbg
Noctule
Soprano pip wing
Jools and Anna doing box checks in the Cotswold Water park
@bct @wiltsbg
The Shire is wet for the first time in 4 months! The land is sighing as the moisture is sucked up. To celebrate here are a few random pics from the summer.
Brandt's (bat of the year! )
Brown long eared
Bechstein's
Natterer's
@bct @wiltsbg
Brandt's (bat of the year! )
Brown long eared
Bechstein's
Natterer's
@bct @wiltsbg
August 29, 2025 at 11:19 AM
The Shire is wet for the first time in 4 months! The land is sighing as the moisture is sucked up. To celebrate here are a few random pics from the summer.
Brandt's (bat of the year! )
Brown long eared
Bechstein's
Natterer's
@bct @wiltsbg
Brandt's (bat of the year! )
Brown long eared
Bechstein's
Natterer's
@bct @wiltsbg
Reposted
Listen! Rare Grey long-eared bat found in Kent, 40 years after last one seen. Only 9 known maternity colonies in UK. 👏 Mountfield Ecology & @ecotypegenetics.bsky.social. Here's one I found a few weeks ago 🦇 @batconservation.bsky.social @mammalconeurope.bsky.social @mammalsociety.bsky.social
July 16, 2025 at 10:14 PM
Listen! Rare Grey long-eared bat found in Kent, 40 years after last one seen. Only 9 known maternity colonies in UK. 👏 Mountfield Ecology & @ecotypegenetics.bsky.social. Here's one I found a few weeks ago 🦇 @batconservation.bsky.social @mammalconeurope.bsky.social @mammalsociety.bsky.social
Reposted
2025. Acoustic romance in old church attics: Greater mouse-eared bats display lek mating system phys.org/news/2025-06...
Acoustic romance in old church attics: Greater mouse-eared bats display lek mating system
In the darkness of old church attics, surprisingly romantic scenes take place as male greater mouse-eared bats (Myotis myotis), the largest native bat species in Europe, compete for the attention of f...
phys.org
June 24, 2025 at 6:09 AM
2025. Acoustic romance in old church attics: Greater mouse-eared bats display lek mating system phys.org/news/2025-06...
This is male Bechstein's J19405. Typically for young males at this time of year, evicted (under duress by the state of his ear) from the maternal home and banished to the 'man shed' equivalent on the edge of the wood. Braydon forest, Wiltshire, May 2025.
May 27, 2025 at 10:33 AM
This is male Bechstein's J19405. Typically for young males at this time of year, evicted (under duress by the state of his ear) from the maternal home and banished to the 'man shed' equivalent on the edge of the wood. Braydon forest, Wiltshire, May 2025.
Reposted
These totally brilliant 5x life-sized 3D printed bat skulls are by www.nobone.be, on display at the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust's excellent Country Comes to Town day in Chippenham.
May 18, 2025 at 4:13 PM
These totally brilliant 5x life-sized 3D printed bat skulls are by www.nobone.be, on display at the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust's excellent Country Comes to Town day in Chippenham.
Reposted
How will bats respond to climate change? Our new paper shows that Nathusius's pipistrelles are likely to expand their European range, but most other bats will lose out. Things look particularly bad for the pond bat, which is already declining rapidly. 🌍🦇#bats #climatechange doi.org/10.1111/cobi...
April 14, 2025 at 9:22 PM
How will bats respond to climate change? Our new paper shows that Nathusius's pipistrelles are likely to expand their European range, but most other bats will lose out. Things look particularly bad for the pond bat, which is already declining rapidly. 🌍🦇#bats #climatechange doi.org/10.1111/cobi...
Reposted
How Do Bats Find Artificial Roosts?
Surprisingly, our study found that bats' previous experience with artificial roosts mattered more than enhanced detectability!
Read more in our new paper!
journals.plos.org/plosone/arti...
Photo by Anja Bergmann
Surprisingly, our study found that bats' previous experience with artificial roosts mattered more than enhanced detectability!
Read more in our new paper!
journals.plos.org/plosone/arti...
Photo by Anja Bergmann
April 10, 2025 at 11:09 PM
How Do Bats Find Artificial Roosts?
Surprisingly, our study found that bats' previous experience with artificial roosts mattered more than enhanced detectability!
Read more in our new paper!
journals.plos.org/plosone/arti...
Photo by Anja Bergmann
Surprisingly, our study found that bats' previous experience with artificial roosts mattered more than enhanced detectability!
Read more in our new paper!
journals.plos.org/plosone/arti...
Photo by Anja Bergmann
Reposted
🦇 In our latest blog, our CEO @kitstoner.bsky.social , reflects on the latest developments of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill.
The Planning and Infrastructure Bill: rhetoric vs reality on nature and development; read it here and share widely: batconservationtrust.substack.com/p/the-planni...
The Planning and Infrastructure Bill: rhetoric vs reality on nature and development; read it here and share widely: batconservationtrust.substack.com/p/the-planni...
At the 2nd reading of the #Planning and Infrastructure Bill, the ‘HS2 bat tunnel’ was mentioned. But let’s look at reality vs rhetoric and how bats are being scapegoated. @batconservation.bsky.social @chrisgpackham.bsky.social @wclnews.bsky.social
batconservationtrust.substack.com/p/the-planni...
batconservationtrust.substack.com/p/the-planni...
The Planning and Infrastructure Bill: rhetoric vs reality on nature and development
our CEO, Kit Stoner, reflects on the latest developments of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill.
batconservationtrust.substack.com
March 28, 2025 at 3:49 PM
🦇 In our latest blog, our CEO @kitstoner.bsky.social , reflects on the latest developments of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill.
The Planning and Infrastructure Bill: rhetoric vs reality on nature and development; read it here and share widely: batconservationtrust.substack.com/p/the-planni...
The Planning and Infrastructure Bill: rhetoric vs reality on nature and development; read it here and share widely: batconservationtrust.substack.com/p/the-planni...
Reposted
Super review, on point.
Susceptibility of bats to ecological and evolutionary traps www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Susceptibility of bats to ecological and evolutionary traps
Human-induced environmental changes have contributed to a decline in species populations worldwide. Some species have adapted because of behavioural p…
www.sciencedirect.com
March 25, 2025 at 11:34 AM
Super review, on point.
Reposted
🦇The Vincent Weir Scientific Award aims to reward and encourage research on the conservation biology of bats by new researchers.
Applications for the Vincent Weir Scientific Award are now open!
Nominations will close on Monday 30 June.
Applications for the Vincent Weir Scientific Award are now open!
Nominations will close on Monday 30 June.
March 16, 2025 at 10:32 AM
🦇The Vincent Weir Scientific Award aims to reward and encourage research on the conservation biology of bats by new researchers.
Applications for the Vincent Weir Scientific Award are now open!
Nominations will close on Monday 30 June.
Applications for the Vincent Weir Scientific Award are now open!
Nominations will close on Monday 30 June.
Reposted
A local mag, The Village Buzz, asked me for a ghost story. Given where we live, I felt it had to be the story of Black Molly of Pyt House.
It's a curious tale of a pregnant maid servant, a skeleton in the basement and a family curse.
Read the full story here: weird-wiltshire.co.uk/2024/03/17/b...
It's a curious tale of a pregnant maid servant, a skeleton in the basement and a family curse.
Read the full story here: weird-wiltshire.co.uk/2024/03/17/b...
March 15, 2025 at 5:24 PM
A local mag, The Village Buzz, asked me for a ghost story. Given where we live, I felt it had to be the story of Black Molly of Pyt House.
It's a curious tale of a pregnant maid servant, a skeleton in the basement and a family curse.
Read the full story here: weird-wiltshire.co.uk/2024/03/17/b...
It's a curious tale of a pregnant maid servant, a skeleton in the basement and a family curse.
Read the full story here: weird-wiltshire.co.uk/2024/03/17/b...
Reposted
Nathusius’ pipistrelle 🦇 is quite a remarkable species, an 8g fluffball that can migrate over 2000km across Europe. In our new paper, we use population genetics to learn a bit more about this amazing creature. (🧵 1/6)
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Diverse but declining? Population genetic structure and genetic diversity of Nathusius’ pipistrelle along the Dutch coastline during the autumn migration period - Mammalian Biology
Migratory bats are experiencing substantial increases in mortality risk from wind energy developments, but data on their migratory behavior and population dynamics are often lacking. Here, we develop ...
link.springer.com
March 13, 2025 at 1:07 PM
Nathusius’ pipistrelle 🦇 is quite a remarkable species, an 8g fluffball that can migrate over 2000km across Europe. In our new paper, we use population genetics to learn a bit more about this amazing creature. (🧵 1/6)
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
I'm posting this photo of Greater horseshoe bats because I just think it is one of the best I've seen! 🦇 (Photo credit Laura Pratt) taken in a Wiltshire mine Feb 2025. Anyway, now to do a bit of bat box maintenance and wait for the sun to shine.
P.S. It snowed in the Shire today🦇
P.S. It snowed in the Shire today🦇
March 12, 2025 at 12:18 PM
I'm posting this photo of Greater horseshoe bats because I just think it is one of the best I've seen! 🦇 (Photo credit Laura Pratt) taken in a Wiltshire mine Feb 2025. Anyway, now to do a bit of bat box maintenance and wait for the sun to shine.
P.S. It snowed in the Shire today🦇
P.S. It snowed in the Shire today🦇
Reposted
Dartmoor's becoming a scary place folks. If the rampaging wild boar don't get you, this 'poisonous' snake surely will. Wildlife in a National Park? Unthinkable. @arc-trust.bsky.social
#wildlife #nature
www.plymouthherald.co.uk/news/plymout...
#wildlife #nature
www.plymouthherald.co.uk/news/plymout...
Huge poisonous snake spotted on Dartmoor
The rare sighting of a venomous black adder has prompted warnings to dog owners and families
www.plymouthherald.co.uk
March 10, 2025 at 9:22 PM
Dartmoor's becoming a scary place folks. If the rampaging wild boar don't get you, this 'poisonous' snake surely will. Wildlife in a National Park? Unthinkable. @arc-trust.bsky.social
#wildlife #nature
www.plymouthherald.co.uk/news/plymout...
#wildlife #nature
www.plymouthherald.co.uk/news/plymout...
Reposted
When bats can't hear...
🦇Plan B(at)🦇
... they compensate by adapting their flight path and vocalizations.
They flew lower, oriented themselves along walls and increased both the number and length of their calls, boosting the power of echo signals used for navigation.
🧪
hub.jhu.edu/2024/11/25/b...
🦇Plan B(at)🦇
... they compensate by adapting their flight path and vocalizations.
They flew lower, oriented themselves along walls and increased both the number and length of their calls, boosting the power of echo signals used for navigation.
🧪
hub.jhu.edu/2024/11/25/b...
Bats' amazing Plan B for when they can't hear
New research by Johns Hopkins neuroscientists reveals instant compensation strategy that other animals might share
hub.jhu.edu
March 5, 2025 at 11:24 AM
When bats can't hear...
🦇Plan B(at)🦇
... they compensate by adapting their flight path and vocalizations.
They flew lower, oriented themselves along walls and increased both the number and length of their calls, boosting the power of echo signals used for navigation.
🧪
hub.jhu.edu/2024/11/25/b...
🦇Plan B(at)🦇
... they compensate by adapting their flight path and vocalizations.
They flew lower, oriented themselves along walls and increased both the number and length of their calls, boosting the power of echo signals used for navigation.
🧪
hub.jhu.edu/2024/11/25/b...
Reposted
🦇
🦇 Bats unfairly get a bad press a lot.
In my work, I see a lot of zoonotic disease scare stories – such misinformation is harmful to conservation and unhelpful on public health, it diverts resources and it can trigger wildlife persecution.
www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/news-even...
In my work, I see a lot of zoonotic disease scare stories – such misinformation is harmful to conservation and unhelpful on public health, it diverts resources and it can trigger wildlife persecution.
www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/news-even...
No evidence that the novel coronavirus identified in bats can be transmitted to humans
While a recent study on a novel coronavirus in bats provides valuable laboratory characterisation data, it cannot be seen as evidence of an infection or transmission risk in humans.
www.ecdc.europa.eu
February 28, 2025 at 9:26 AM
🦇
Reposted
Just a few more days to apply for a PhD with me! Use new technologies to study movement and ecology of serotine bats in UK. Evidence can guide future rabies control strategies, helping bats and people. Click on project 'Understanding transmission..' here: www.surrey.ac.uk/bbsrc-wessex... #PhD #bats
February 25, 2025 at 8:34 AM
Just a few more days to apply for a PhD with me! Use new technologies to study movement and ecology of serotine bats in UK. Evidence can guide future rabies control strategies, helping bats and people. Click on project 'Understanding transmission..' here: www.surrey.ac.uk/bbsrc-wessex... #PhD #bats
We've walked and crawled and climbed, covered many kilometres underground, smelt the distinct oder of pipe tobacco from the disgruntled spirit of an old quarry man (seriously spooky) and done our bit for science. Now to drink tea and eat cake, and maybe biscuits.
February 23, 2025 at 7:37 PM
We've walked and crawled and climbed, covered many kilometres underground, smelt the distinct oder of pipe tobacco from the disgruntled spirit of an old quarry man (seriously spooky) and done our bit for science. Now to drink tea and eat cake, and maybe biscuits.
We've been in The pit of doom, Pharoah's tomb, Muddy hole, Death chamber, Clapham Junction (not that one) and the back passage. We've wrecked our knees and recorded several thousand bats across our hibernation sites. Wiltshire Bat Group hard as nails and covered in cr*p
February 23, 2025 at 6:58 PM
We've been in The pit of doom, Pharoah's tomb, Muddy hole, Death chamber, Clapham Junction (not that one) and the back passage. We've wrecked our knees and recorded several thousand bats across our hibernation sites. Wiltshire Bat Group hard as nails and covered in cr*p