The main intention of bat survey is to make sure that bats are not intentionally hurt as they are protected under section 9 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended) and regulation 39 of the Conservation (Natural Habitats &c.) (Amendment) Regulations 2007 in U.K. For example, you need to carry out development work that includes linear features such as woodland edges, hedgerows and canals nearby which bats may use for acquiring food. It is mandatory to execute
bat survey as it is illegal to harm bats. Though, some bat surveys do not require a license, professional ecological consultants are best to seek help from. Before exploring the types of bat surveys, it would be interesting to know what law considers as illegal when it comes to harming bats:
- Intentionally kill, injure or possess bats
- Deliberately disturb wild animals that affect distribution of the species
- Unreasonably disrupt roosting bats or impede access to their roosts
- Destroying of eggs of bats
- Damaging breed sites or resting places of bats
- Illegally acquiring bats, transporting any part of it, selling or bartering
Usually, professional ecological consultants undertake following bat surveys:
- Bat survey regarding initial habitat: This survey is comprised of the efforts that check whether the site is able to help bats roost, commute and forage
- Building or bridge survey: In this survey, licensed ecological consultants check the buildings and bridges whether bats are residing in them
- Surveys of Trees: This type of bat survey involves qualified climbers who can climb the trees to check whether there are bats or not
- Underground site survey: This as the name suggests would include underground inspection of the bats by the ecologists
- Dawn and dusk survey: This is special type of bat survey in which ecologists come to the site before two hours of dawn and after two hours of dusk to check the movement and commuting of the bats
- Bat activity survey: This includes use of detectors and recorders to listen commuting and foraging of bats. This aims to analyze echolocation calls - unique for each species
