Bats

[arb culture]

Arb Culture, you can undertake activity surveys without a license, but this must not be invasive, so no prodding round in cavities etc. You would need to undertake bat detector surveys at the right time of year and at dawn/dusk, concentrating on key features of the tree from the ground, and if you are experienced enough, you could identify species, type of roost, numbers, commuting routes etc and make recommendations of the back of this. I must admit though, Natural England will usually want to see a written report from a licensed bat worker.

 

Thanks Chris. That's a bit clearer now.

 

I know that the LPAs I deal with usually require bat surveys to be done by a licensed surveyor when done as part of a planning application. I assume that this is because such surveys would often need to be invasive, or that proposals might involve potentially drastic changes to habitat.

 

I don't have any professional involvement with bats (as you can probably guess) but they are such interesting creatures that I think I might do some training just out of curiosity.

[ChrisG]

Planning applications are a different kettle of fish, you would need to be licensed, or highly experienced for the report to stand up as part of the application. I mean, it is all job specific, so some projects may just need a visual assesment to confirm if the habitat is suitable or not, others may need a full blown survey over a large time period by a number of proffesionals, using a wide variety of survey techniques.

 

Again guys, don't let any of this put you off getting involved with bat groups, or other organisations, time consuming it may be, but really rewarding work (not just in money terms). On the one hand, yes it did take me a number of years to become licensed, but like most proffesionals, I beleive if something is worth doing it's worth doing properly. I have been studying managing trees, conservation, protected species for many years and feel I still have a long way to go. But, it's a passion, not just a box ticked to get a job done.