BatChat Bat Conservation Trust

S5E48 Jersey Zoo in the Channel Islands is home to 90% of the world's captive population of Livingstone's fruit bats. With an estimated 1300 in the wild, this captive breeding programme is vital to the survival of the species in a disaster event. We join Dominic Wormell inside the bat enclosure as he explains how they care for the colony and how the bats are received by the visiting public.
Discover more about the colony here
Have a listen to our other zoo episode from Chester Zoo
More about the species on the BCI website
Bat to the Future instalment 3...Louis-Jean-Marie D’Aubenton. A new feature for Series 5, Bat to the Future will delve into the history of the guys who have bats named after them. With each new episode release, this audio will be replaced with the next instalment so be sure to listen before the next episode comes out!
Support the showPlease leave us a review or star rating if your podcast app allows it because it helps us to reach a wider audience so that we can spread the word about how great bats are. How to write a podcast review (and why you should).

Got a story to share with us? Please get in touch via comms@bats.org.uk

Bats are magical but misunderstood. At BCT our vision is a world rich in wildlife where bats and people thrive together. Action to protect & conserve bats is having a positive impact on bat populations in the UK. We would not be able to continue our work to protect bats & their habitats without your contribution so if you can please donate. We need your support now more than ever: www.bats.org.uk/donate Thank you!

S5E47 On the edge of the Cotswolds lies Lacock Abbey, home to Professor Quirrel's classroom and the Mirror of Erised. But whilst millions of people will recognise the Cloisters of the Abbey used in the filming of the Harry Potter franchise, a rather special spectacle can be found here once the sun goes down. A soprano pipistrelle bat roost hidden in the roof of Sharrington's tower is regurgitated each evening from the mouths of the gargoyles that surround the tower. We join Wendy Priest as she undertakes a count for the National Bat Monitoring Programme on a calm June evening. 
Follow Wendy on twitter and InstagramDiscover more about Lacock Abbey and follow them on twitter, facebook and InstagramTake a look at the Wiltshire Bat Group's website, twitter, Instagram and Facebook page.Find out how to take part in the National Bat Monitoring Programme yourselfDiscover your local bat groupBat to the Future instalment 3...Louis-Jean-Marie D’Aubenton. A new feature for Series 5, Bat to the Future will delve into the history of the guys who have bats named after them. With each new episode release, this audio will be replaced with the next instalment so be sure to listen before the next episode comes out!
Support the showPlease leave us a review or star rating if your podcast app allows it because it helps us to reach a wider audience so that we can spread the word about how great bats are. How to write a podcast review (and why you should).

Got a story to share with us? Please get in touch via comms@bats.org.uk

Bats are magical but misunderstood. At BCT our vision is a world rich in wildlife where bats and people thrive together. Action to protect & conserve bats is having a positive impact on bat populations in the UK. We would not be able to continue our work to protect bats & their habitats without your contribution so if you can please donate. We need your support now more than ever: www.bats.org.uk/donate Thank you!

S5E46 Hidden in west Dorset is a nature reserve which holds a very special secret. A bat box scheme which was installed in the late 1990's is home to one of the most well-studied colonies of Bechstein's bats. Join Steve as he spends the day with the Vincent Wildlife Trust and Dorset Wildlife Trust as they undertake one of their monthly inspections of the boxes, adding to this really important data which has been collected over the last quarter of a century. We hear from Patrick Wright, VWTs senior scientific officer about the history of the scheme and what new discoveries are being made, Steve Masters, Dorset Wildlife Trust's reserve ecologist who tells us why the woodland is such a special place and a familiar voice to regular listeners; Jim Mullholland who has recently joined VWT explains how the team are processing the bats as silver-washed fritillary butterflies swoop around the dappled sunlight hitting the woodland floor.
Bats at the Vincent Wildlife TrustDorset Wildlife TrustDorset Bat GroupMaureen Keats dedicationBat to the Future instalment 3...Louis-Jean-Marie D’Aubenton. A new feature for Series 5, Bat to the Future will delve into the history of the guys who have bats named after them. With each new episode release, this audio will be replaced with the next instalment so be sure to listen before the next episode comes out!
Support the showPlease leave us a review or star rating if your podcast app allows it because it helps us to reach a wider audience so that we can spread the word about how great bats are. How to write a podcast review (and why you should).

Got a story to share with us? Please get in touch via comms@bats.org.uk

Bats are magical but misunderstood. At BCT our vision is a world rich in wildlife where bats and people thrive together. Action to protect & conserve bats is having a positive impact on bat populations in the UK. We would not be able to continue our work to protect bats & their habitats without your contribution so if you can please donate. We need your support now more than ever: www.bats.org.uk/donate Thank you!

BatChat Series 5 is set to kick off on Wednesday November 1st, with an exciting lineup of guests and fascinating interviews. Stay tuned for more great content and enriching conversations. Don't forget to check out the accompanying video on YouTube for more batty content. Mark your calendars, set your reminders and get ready for the return of BatChat!

If you're new to BatChat, episodes are released every second Wednesday throughout each series taking listeners through autumn, winter and early spring with stories from the world of bat conservation.
Support the showPlease leave us a review or star rating if your podcast app allows it because it helps us to reach a wider audience so that we can spread the word about how great bats are. How to write a podcast review (and why you should).

Got a story to share with us? Please get in touch via comms@bats.org.uk

Bats are magical but misunderstood. At BCT our vision is a world rich in wildlife where bats and people thrive together. Action to protect & conserve bats is having a positive impact on bat populations in the UK. We would not be able to continue our work to protect bats & their habitats without your contribution so if you can please donate. We need your support now more than ever: www.bats.org.uk/donate Thank you!

S4E45 - Bonus! This summer, in a major new exhibition, you can see how documenting the animal world has resulted in some of humankind’s most awe-inspiring art, science and sound recordings:
Animals: Art, Science and Sound is now open at the British Library
Part of the exhibition is dedicated to darkness and Steve got to have a preview of what's on show a couple of days before the exhibition opened. In this interview with Cheryl Tipp, curator of Wildlife and Environmental Sounds, Steve discovers what can be heard in the exhibit as well as what bat recordings lie in the archive. Hear the recordings of horseshoe bats made on one of the first commercially available bat detectors; the Holgate Mk VI and you can see this detector within the exhibition along with photographs of the waveforms it could make from recordings. It sits alongside other important works such as Ernst Haeckel's Kunstformen der Natur (Artforms in nature) with the plate of bats on display. Cheryl also explains how you can submit your bat recordings to the library for adding to the archive.

The exhibition is open until Monday 28th Aug 2023. Tickets and all the information you need can be found on the Animals: Art, Science and Sound website.
Follow Cheryl Tipp on twitter.Discover more about John Hooper on page 13 of this journal.Listen to the Holgate recordings of greater horseshoes again on the British Library archive page as well as Cheryl's recording of common pipistrelles.Support the showPlease leave us a review or star rating if your podcast app allows it because it helps us to reach a wider audience so that we can spread the word about how great bats are. How to write a podcast review (and why you should).

Got a story to share with us? Please get in touch via comms@bats.org.uk

Bats are magical but misunderstood. At BCT our vision is a world rich in wildlife where bats and people thrive together. Action to protect & conserve bats is having a positive impact on bat populations in the UK. We would not be able to continue our work to protect bats & their habitats without your contribution so if you can please donate. We need your support now more than ever: www.bats.org.uk/donate Thank you!

S4E44 - Bonus! The landmark nature documentary series Wild Isles, presented by Sir David Attenborough is currently transmitting on Sunday's at 7pm on BBC One. The fourth episode "Freshwater" features a fabulous bat sequence, recorded in Yorkshire of the phenomenon of autumn swarming. Back in November as the series had entered picture lock, Steve went along to the offices of Silverback films to interview assistant producer Lily Moffatt who worked on the sequence. Lily explains how they captured the shots and what sort of effort goes into capturing such a sequence for a blue chip production.
Discover how you can save our Wild Isles and visit the BBC's series website. You can also re-watch the episode on the Freshwater webpage.

Get in touch with the show - comms@bats.org.uk - if you have a story to share, are doing a bat project or want to submit a piece of writing or poetry.
Support the showPlease leave us a review or star rating if your podcast app allows it because it helps us to reach a wider audience so that we can spread the word about how great bats are. How to write a podcast review (and why you should).

Got a story to share with us? Please get in touch via comms@bats.org.uk

Bats are magical but misunderstood. At BCT our vision is a world rich in wildlife where bats and people thrive together. Action to protect & conserve bats is having a positive impact on bat populations in the UK. We would not be able to continue our work to protect bats & their habitats without your contribution so if you can please donate. We need your support now more than ever: www.bats.org.uk/donate Thank you!