|
bats and surveys21st Mar 2019Bats and surveys
Getting a bat survey license is like elephant gestation: slow, long, drawn out and often takes about 95 weeks. From personal experience that seems true. It also means that you have to cover everything in one part of the year, then risk forgetting it as the seasons change.
Rather like birds, because bats do different things according to season, there is always something to be preparing for. We are at the tail end of winter, and bats are (metaphorically) limbering up for spring. So, the super sharp lenser torches have given way to bat detectors and transect kit. My detector sits here on the desk as I write- just in case that warm spell has excited the nearby roost just a little.
One thing I did a couple of years ago was to spend several days on a tree and woodland bat roost course. The say then was about a book by Henry Andrews on tree roosts. The book has taken a little longer than expected, but is worth it. The text matches the rumoured character of the author. Anyone that can castigate poor survey methodologies and rationales in an opening chapter has something going for them. Also, the chapter provides a series of brilliant excerpts for those of us interested in legal wording and what QCs should be asking. I'll look forward to using the book in practice this summer- and may well wear out an endoscope as a result.
|
|
