Surrey Bat Group

Forthcoming Events

BAT WALKS

There is usually a charge for these but this does not apply to Surrey Bat Group members – if you have a detector bring it along (without your headphones on this occasion) as this will enhance the experience for everyone else.
NB – For some of these, special opening arrangements are made for sites which normally shut by dusk. If you are late, entrance gates may be locked.

Wednesday 22^nd July - Public Bat Walk, NT Frensham (public booking details will be posted when available)
 

Friday 7th August - National Trust Bat Walk, Ankerwyke
Park in the turning circle at the main entrance to the site (there is an NT information board in the middle) in Magna Carta Lane, off the B376 (between M25/J13 and Wraysbury) TQ005732. Meet at 8:20 p.m. for an 8:30 start.
 

Friday 21st August - Public Bat Walk at NT Winkworth Arboretum (On B2130 Brighton Road SU989413)

Public bookings to Alison Bishop (NT), or call the arboretum on 01483 208477 to reserve your places.

Saturday 29th August - National Trust Bat Walk, Claremont Landscape Gardens (between Esher and Cobham).
Meet in the car park just inside the entrance from A307, Portsmouth Road TQ128632. Start time 7:30 p.m. (don't be late, or the entrance gate may be shut).
 
Saturday 5^th September - Public Bat Walk, NT Swan Barn, Haslemere More information and public bookings via Gwyneth Byerley or 01243 814544
 

SHOWS & DISPLAYS
Surrey Bat Group has been invited to take part in the following event. If you can help by manning the Bat Group stand for part (or all!) of the day please let Ross and Lynn know  as soon as possible.

Fun Day, Winkworth Arboretum - Friday 7th August

BAT SURVEYS  

We shall be undertaking a number of surveys this year, in particular to establish the distribution of Bechstein's bats throughout Surrey.
Let Lynn and Ross know if you are interested in helping out.

INDOOR MEETINGS 
(a summary of past meetings appears at the bottom of this page)
Our winter indoor meetings are held at the National Trust’s Dapdune Wharf, Wharf Road, Guildford. Wharf Road is off Woodbridge Road, between the Methodist church and the southern side of the cricket ground. Go to the end of Wharf Road, through the National Trust gate on the right, along a roadway over speed bumps to the car park on the left hand side. We meet at 8:00 p.m. in the tea-room there.

 Our indoor meetings recommence in October

HIBERNATION SITE CHECKS

During the course of the winter we carry out a programme of hibernation site checks at various venues throughout the county. Surveys are done during December, January and February.
For conservation reasons places on these visits are extremely limited but please let Ross and Lynn know if you are interested in attending one.

BAT BOX CHECKS

The group has a number of well established bat box schemes in the county and we undertake checks of these periodically throughout the year. Please contact Ross or Lynn if you would like to come along. Details will be sent to those on our e-mail list.

Past Events - 2009

Wednesday 27th May - Public Bat Walk at NT Winkworth Arboretum

Another memorable walk. Very close views of common and soprano pipistrelles feeding and Daubenton's bats over the lake. An obliging noctule patrolled above us just before dark, giving everyone a very good look at this large bat.
 

Saturday 16^th May - Public Bat Walk at NT Claremont Landscape Gardens

An excellent show by the two main pipistrelle species, several Nathusius' pipistrelles and Daubenton's bats, with a few faint noctule calls detected.

Thursday 19^th March - Bats of the Pantanal, Brazil, Ross Baker.
A really fascinating account of the various bats trapped by Ross and Lynn on their recent Earthwatch trip. Their spectacular pictures included close-ups of each species together with some of a number of other interesting creatures seen in the locality.

Thursday 19^th February - Bats and lighting, Alison Fure, Furesfen Ecological Consultancy.
Alison described how different bat species are affected by high light
levels, stressing the need for bat workers to convince planners,
councils, road builders etc. of the harmful nature of excessive lighting
of bat roosting, commuting and foraging areas, and particularly
waterways. Further information can be found in Alison's paper on the
subject, available free at http://www.furesfen.co.uk/bats_and_lighting.pdf

Thursday 15^th January - Bat care and rehabilitation, Amanda Millar, Sussex Bat Group.
A very instructive session for those of us involved in bat rescue and rehabilitation, including some wonderful video of the Sussex BG release programme 'Batzebo' in use.

Past Events - 2008

Thursday 18th December
Barbastelles
Frank Greenaway gave us an insight into the extensive and very detailed research he has been doing on barbastelles since the mid 1990s. Radio tracking was used to reveal colony locations, ranges and interactions. Whilst most of the work has concentrated on Sussex colonies, it was interesting to see that their northern range extends into Surrey.
 

Thursday 20th November
Field observations of bats' responses to gaps in hedgerows.
A fascinating talk by Roger Martindale, based on his research over many years. Traditional views of the effect of gap creation were to some extent challenged, while it became clear that the situation is much more complex than previously imagined.
 

Thursday 16th October - AGM    
Our traditionally informal review of a successful year.

Friday 29th August - HNHS Public Bat Walk at Frensham Little Pond 
Ideal conditions made for a very enjoyable evening with Haslemere Natural History Society. 45 and 55 pipistrelles were in abundance, interspersed with a few noctule, serotine and Myotis passes as we walked around the lake. Of particular interest, a noctule-like call at 27 kHz was almost certainly a Leisler's bat - the first time this species has been recorded at this site. A spectacular finish to the evening was provided by large numbers of Daubenton's bats flying very close to us over the water by the dam. Click for Martyn Phillis' sonagrams from the walk.
 

Saturday 23rd August - Bat Walk at Claremont Landscape Gardens
The excellent evening we've come to expect at this site. Lots of bats for everyone to see, including 45, 55 and Nathusius' pipistrelles, a noctule or two, and masses of Daubenton's over the lake. An added bonus for those attending was a close up view of two pipistrelles captured in our harp trap survey which we ran concurrently with the walk. Click here to see Pete Brennand's sonagrams of all species.
 

Friday 8th August - National Trust Bat Walk at Ankerwycke
A good walk with excellent sightings of Daubenton's bats over the river.

Saturday 17th May - Public Bat Walk at Claremont Landscape Gardens
A very enjoyable evening. Large numbers of pipistrelles and Daubenton's were seen by all those attending, and a few noctule passes were detected also. We were delighted to find that Nathusius' pipistrelles were again present among the two more common species.