Waterway Survey

Bat Conservation Trust

Description

Numbers of Daubenton's bat passes counted with the aid of a bat detector along a 1km stretch of waterway in August. Species presence records from this survey are included in this dataset. GB data are from BCT's National Bat Monitoring Programme core-funded by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee. Northern Ireland records are from the All-Ireland Waterway Survey run by Bat Conservation Ireland and funded in NI by the Northern Ireland Environment Agency.

Geographic Description

UK. The survey collects data using a random stratified sampling approach. Survey coverage is not complete however and is lower in areas with fewer volunteers or with less accessible terrain such as upland areas.

Purpose

Data are collected for the purposed of producing species population trends.

Data quality

All data were collected using a standardised methodology. Heterodyne detectors and visual confirmation of species presence are used enabling a wide range of volunteers to collect data for the purpose of producing Daubenton's bat population trends. Participants are provided with training and resources to aid species identification but it is not possible to verify records from this survey. The data do not provide a complete picture of bat distribution, but should be considered as a sample of sites from across the UK. These data are not intended to replace systematic local surveys and data held by local records centres.

Methods

A 1km stretch of waterway (river/canal) is walked, with four-minute stops at ten points along the route to record bat activity of Daubenton's bat with a heterodyne bat detector, during two evenings in August. Daubenton's bats are identified using a combination of listening to the calls on the bat detector and visually observing bats foraging low over the water, with the aid of a torch if needed. Normally one survey is carried out between 1-15 August and a second survey between 16-30 August.

Citation

Bat Conservation Trust (2020). Waterway Survey

Rights

CC-BY

Digitised records