Hampshire Bat Group is a registered charity made up of volunteer members. 


As a partner group to the Bat Conservation Trust, we aim to promote and support bat conservation in Hampshire and to raise public awareness about these fascinating animals.  Bats need our help because they face many threats, including from loss of habitat, loss of roost sites, light pollution and decline in the abundance of nocturnal insects.


Please note that, as a matter of policy, Hampshire Bat Group does not undertake surveys for commercial purposes or to make formal objections to planning applications.


Have you discovered a sick or injured bat?

For Bat Care and Rescue, phone Hampshire Bat Group carers on 07760 504257. If there is no answer, please leave a voicemail or a text message, giving us your name, area and phone number.

The Bat Conservation Trust helpline 0345 1300 228 is also available. Please see our 'What we do' page for further information.


Bats in your home?

See the website of the Bat Conservation Trust for information on the law and sources of advice.



Our meetings

 

We are looking forward to welcoming our members and guests to the meetings in our 2024/5 season, all at the Swanwick Lakes Study Centre, Sopwith Way, SO31 7AY. Meetings start at 7.30pm. We aim to open the doors for refreshments and chat by 7pm.


Thursday 24th October 2024. Our meeting included four short presentations:

Sinead McCarthy and Simon Boswell told us about the extensive bat surveys and mitigation work being carried out on the site of the new Havant Thicket Reservoir.

Simon Bizley gave a presentation about the conversion of a second world war structure into a bat roost.

Richard Codlin showed us some of his impressive bat videos taken with his infra-red equipment.


Thursday 28th November 2024. Adrian Bicker gave us presentations on three topics:

'High Quality Infra-Red Video for Bat Surveys'. Since Adrian's previous talk he has pushed the limits further and is happy to show us what is now possible and share his knowledge of IR illumination and camera equipment.

'On Chesil Beach - Nathusius' pipistrelle migration research'. How has the pattern of migration activity changed since his first survey in 2017? There are some surprises.

'Mind the Gap'. Understanding the echoes of bat calls that we see in full-spectrum recordings and using these to add meaning, such as the direction of flight and the likely height of the bat.


Wednesday 19th February 2025. Our meeting included two short presentations:

Carolyn Hargreaves gave a talk titled Bat Care 2024, focussing on the challenges of rearing orphaned pups. James Riches told us what has been discovered by the deployment of our AutoMoth static detectors.


Wednesday 26th March 2025. Dr Jorn Cheney described his research into how wing structure defines bat flight. Robyn Myers described her investigation of the relationship between echolocation and horseshoe bat faces and skulls.


Thursday 24th April 2025. AGM and bat detector workshop, thermal imaging presentation and survey of the Swanwick Lakes reserve.



The dates for our 2025/26 season will be announced soon.



Contacts

For non-urgent bat care enquiries, please email us at batcarehantsbats(at)gmail.com

For general enquiries, to contribute records or to request bat distribution data searches, contact our Chair and County Recorder - Nik Knight - recordshantsbats(at)gmail.com


We are a partner group of the Bat Conservation Trust

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Devoted to the conservation of bats in Hampshire, UK