The Devon Bat Group (DBG) was founded in 1984 to help protect bats and their habitats, to look after injured bats and to advise and educate people about bats.

History

The Devon Bat Group was formed in the English county of Devon in 1984 by people concerned about the decline of British bats. Devon, in the South West of England, is of special importance as it supports most of the British bat species and DBG members work to maintain this diversity and increase our knowledge about bats. It is one of a network of bat groups in the UK which are members of The Bat Conservation Trust. The Bat Conservation Trust was formed in 1991 as an umbrella organisation for the network of bat groups in the UK.

Group members and activities

The Group members range from people who are interested in learning more about bats and those wanting to join in group activities to professional ecologists. Activities include roost visits, organising

bat box Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most bir ...

schemes, with regular box checks, and bat surveys. Educational talks, arranging bat walks and caring for sick and injured bats are also organised by DBG members. Members with bat licences carry out Bat Roost Visitor work for Natural England. General Group meetings are held every three months and the DBG also has local sections in

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

and North Devon to organise more local activities. The group works in partnership with many other organisations across Devon. At several reservoirs across Devon, they have worked with the South West Lakes Trust to monitor bat populations at Roadford Lake and other reservoirs. They participate in the Devon Greater Horseshoe Bat Project alongside Devon Wildlife Trust,

Clinton Devon Estates Clinton Devon Estates is a land management and property development company which manages the Devonshire estates belonging to Baron Clinton, the largest private landowner in Devon, England. Lord Clinton is of the Fane-Trefusis family, and is ...

Devon County Council Devon County Council is the county council administering the English county of Devon. Based in the city of Exeter, the council covers the non-metropolitan county area of Devon. Members of the council (councillors) are elected every four years to ...

and others. In 2014 and 2015 they helped to run a

citizen science Citizen science (CS) (similar to community science, crowd science, crowd-sourced science, civic science, participatory monitoring, or volunteer monitoring) is scientific research conducted with participation from the public (who are sometimes re ...

project called The Big Exeter Bat Survey to find out about where (and which) bats live in

. As part of the work to re-open

Hemerdon Mine Drakelands Mine, also known as Hemerdon Mine or Hemerdon Ball Mine, is a tungsten and tin mine. It is located northeast of Plymouth, near Plympton, in Devon, England. It lies to the north of the villages of Sparkwell and Hemerdon, and adjacen ...

, survey data from the group were used as evidence to draw up a plan to mitigate the impact of mining on the bats.

Bat species found in Devon

16 out of 18 UK resident species of bat have been found in Devon. The exceptions are ''

Myotis myotis The greater mouse-eared bat (''Myotis myotis'') is a European species of bat in the family Vespertilionidae. Description ''Myotis myotis'' is a large bat with a long, broad muzzle and big, long ears. The body's dorsal side is brown to reddish-br ...

'', the Greater Mouse-Eared bat and '' Myotis alcathoe'' the Alcathoe bat.

Barbastelle

* '' Barbastella barbastellus'': barbastelle

Serotine

* ''

Eptesicus serotinus The serotine bat (''Eptesicus serotinus''), also known as the common serotine bat, big brown bat, or silky bat, is a fairly large Eurasian bat with quite large ears. It has a wingspan of around and often hunts in woodland. It sometimes roosts ...

'': serotine bat

''Myotis''

* ''

Myotis bechsteinii Bechstein's bat (''Myotis bechsteinii'') is a species of vesper bat found in Europe and western Asia, living in extensive areas of woodland. Description Bechstein's bat is a medium-sized and relatively long-eared bat. The adult has a long, fluf ...

'': Bechstein's bat * '' Myotis brandtii'': Brandt's bat; * ''

Myotis daubentonii Daubenton's bat or Daubenton's myotis (''Myotis daubentonii'') is a Eurasian bat with rather short ears. It ranges from Ireland to Japan (Hokkaido) and is considered to be increasing its numbers in many areas. This bat was first described in 181 ...

'': Daubenton's bat * ''

Myotis mystacinus The whiskered bat (''Myotis mystacinus'') is a small European bat with long fur. Although uncommon, ''M. mystacinus'' is often found around human habitation and around water; it is similar to Brandt's bat (''Myotis brandtii''), from which it wa ...

'': whiskered bat * ''

Myotis nattereri Natterer's bat (''Myotis nattereri'') is a European vespertilionid bat with pale wings. It has brown fur tending to greyish-white on its underside. It is found across most of the continent of Europe, parts of the Near East and North Africa. It fee ...

'': Natterer's bat;

Noctules

* '' Nyctalus leisleri'': Leisler's bat * ''

Nyctalus noctula The common noctule (''Nyctalus noctula'') is a species of insectivorous bat common throughout Europe, Asia, and North Africa. Description The common noctule's short fur is dark brown after moulting in June (males) or July/August (females); lat ...

'': noctule bat

Pipistrelles

* ''

Pipistrellus nathusii Nathusius' pipistrelle (''Pipistrellus nathusii'') is a small bat in the genus ''Pipistrellus''. It is very similar to the common pipistrelle and has been overlooked in many areas until recently but it is widely distributed across Europe. It was ...

'': Nathusius' pipistrelle * ''

Pipistrellus pipistrellus The common pipistrelle (''Pipistrellus pipistrellus'') is a small pipistrelle microbat whose very large range extends across most of Europe, North Africa, South Asia, and may extend into Korea. It is one of the most common bat species in the Brit ...

'': common pipistrelle * ''

Pipistrellus pygmaeus The soprano pipistrelle (''Pipistrellus pygmaeus'') is a small species of bat. It is found in Europe and often roosts on buildings. Taxonomy Until 1999, the soprano pipistrelle was considered as conspecific with the common pipistrelle The com ...

'': soprano pipistrelle

Long-eared bats

* '' Plecotus auritus'': brown long-eared bat * '' Plecotus austriacus'': grey long-eared bat

Horseshoe bats

* '' Rhinolophus ferrumequinum'': greater horseshoe bat; * '' Rhinolophus hipposideros'': lesser horseshoe bat;

References

{{reflist

External links

Devon Bat Group
Bat conservation ~ Organisations based in Devon Animals in England 1984 establishments in England

History

Group members and activities

Bat species found in Devon

Barbastelle

Serotine

''Myotis''

Noctules

Pipistrelles

Long-eared bats

Horseshoe bats

See also

References

External links