Kelly added the importance of providing bats with bed and breakfast, by including suitable green infrastructure and landscape plans.

Our Bats in Buildings Briefing this week was led by Kelly Gunnell from The Bat Conservation Trust and our own bat ecologist, Dr. Sarah Yarwood-Lovett. Twenty attendees from local authorities, architects and environmental organisations learned about the importance and complexity of bat surveys and bat mitigation.

‘Bat poo’ was a major element of the Briefing as its appearance can help differentiate bat species!




Attendees learnt how different species, have different roosting requirements, which informs design of size, materials and shape of replacement roost sites. The greater and lesser horseshoe bats, for example, prefer an ‘L’-shaped loft . BCT is currently researching the success of bat boxes as it is suspected that their use may be restricted to the more common species of bat. There is concern that boxes are installed without consultation and not always sited in optimal positions to encourage use by roosting bats.




Sarah emphasised the importance of commissioning ecologists to survey a site at the earliest opportunity, because different bat species can roost almost anywhere, including in tiny crevices, making it very difficult to rule out if bats are present. If bats are present, the process of surveys, applying for a bat EPSM licence*, designing mitigation and implementing it, can delay a project if this hasn’t been programmed in at an early stage. Kelly added the importance of providing bats with bed and breakfast, by including suitable green infrastructure and landscape plans.

*EPSM – European Protected Species Mitigation licence, obtained from Natural England.

..we found a young hedgehog tucking into the salmon...

Last night our ecologists James and Vicky were conducting a late-evening bat survey at Gravesend in Kent. As darkness drew in the uneven ground caused a fortuitous accident, at least for one wild creature -

James reports,

“ I accidentally spilled some of my lovely salmon and pasta on the ground (rather irritating as that was my dinner) but when we returned to the same area a bit later, we found a young hedgehog tucking into the salmon and some of the pasta. I hope I helped it fatten up for the winter! I suppose it makes a change from slugs and dung beetles, doesn't it ?!”

The Hedgehog Preservation Society advises that hedgehogs may be fed cat food, unsweetened cereal and raisins. Our own high-in-salt prepared foods are unsuitable as a general rule.