Bovey Barbastelle Bats – the Research Continues (Barbastelle Diary part 10)

After a busy summer of bat tracking last year, the colony of rare barbastelles in the Bovey Valley is providing further interest to scientists. This time, Dr. Orly Razgour, a research fellow from the University of Southampton has started to survey these East Dartmoor bats as part of her European-wide genetic research project on bat responses to global climate change. So far, Orly has been gathering information on barbastelles from Morocco to Sweden and, for a few nights in August,Read more

Bats and Ladders – part 9 of the Barbastelle Tracking Diary

On an April morning the spring sunshine lit up Yarner Woods, the bare oak branches of the ancient woodland reached into the chalky blue sky. A group of volunteers gathered at the Woodland Centre, reminiscing about the previous summer, tagging and tracking the rare barbastelle bats. Standing outside the classroom window, memories were instantly recalled. “It was only a year ago when we all got together in there. We knew nothing about barbastelles then”. Talk of various bat species, mistRead more

Barbastelle Tracking Diary – part 8

December 2015  While the Bovey Valley’s barbastelle bats are well into hibernation, the study of this rare species carries on in the laboratories of the University of Bristol. One morning in December, some of the bat tracking volunteers assembled in the Life Sciences building to find out how the information gathered in Devon during the summer was being analysed. Having now recovered from the semi-nocturnal part of the study, Andy Carr explained how his PhD was continuing and what had beenRead more

Barbastelle Tracking Diary – part 7

September 2015  After a busy summer, Bristol University bat researcher Andy Carr and some dedicated volunteers got together at the Woodland Centre in Yarner Woods to review the Bovey Valley barbastelle bat tracking project. It all started back in April when the team of volunteers began training in the use of radio tracking and data recording equipment. Andy then set up a series of trapping nets to capture and tag bats and all was going well until the Dartmoor weatherRead more

Barbastelle Tracking Diary – part 6

August 2015  While the sun descended over Trendlebere Down one August evening, a small group of naturalists gathered. Along with Andy Carr, bat researcher from the University of Bristol, Barry Henwood and Bob Heckford, brought their specialist knowledge of moths. Andy and his team of volunteers has previously revealed some of the foraging habits of the rare barbastelle bats of the Bovey Valley and now he needs to know more about the range and availability of their food. It’s wellRead more

Barbastelle Tracking Diary – part 3

April 2015  On Saturday 25th April the barbastelle bat tracking team met at the Yarner Woodland Centre for the third time to start their practical radio tracking training. Still keen to commit their time to the study, the 25 volunteers signed up and paired up into survey teams for the coming months’ work. Back at the helm, Andy Carr (PhD researcher at the University of Bristol) outlined the training for the day. This would be the first time the volunteersRead more