Kent Bat Group
The Kent Bat Group has been working to help protect the county's bats and learn more about them since 1983.
www.kentbatgroup.org.uk
- We are already 6 days into 2026 and quite the coldest start to a year, with snowfall in many places across Kent and a thick frosty layer of ice on the ground. Many of our volunteers are now gearing themselves up for the first NBMP Hibernation Surveys. Wrap up warm! www.kentbatgroup.org.uk/support-us
- Reposted by Kent Bat GroupNew report shows people don’t want new homes to be built at nature’s expense www.rspb.org.uk/whats-happen...
- 🦇 We are still receiving calls for injured and grounded bats, if you do find a bat that needs help, please contact the Bat Conservation Trust National Bat Helpline on 0345 1300 228 or report it via our website www.kentbatgroup.org.uk or simply google "help I've found a bat" for advice
- We are delighted to announce that Naomi Webster, Training and Conferences Manager at @batconservation.bsky.social will be giving our talk at this year's AGM meeting this Friday 3rd October. For more info please see our website: www.kentbatgroup.org.uk/events/our-agm
- Reposted by Kent Bat Group🦇It's October! What are bats up to now? More mating is taking place, and building up fat reserves is becoming crucial to survive the winter season. Bats will start looking for suitable hibernation sites, and beginning periods of torpor.
- Our AGM has had to be moved to FRIDAY 3rd October at Lenham Community Centre. Please keep an eye on our website for more details including our guest speaker for the evening: www.kentbatgroup.org.uk/events/our-agm
- For those of you keeping track www.batnames.org is the website that tracks new bat species recorded around the globe each year, and the site has just updated their count to 1500! What amazing news!
- Reposted by Kent Bat Group🦇The Badger and the Bat is available to purchase from my Esty shop bizzyillustrations.etsy.com and I will donate 5% sale profits to @batconservation.bsky.social and @kentbatgroup.org.uk with every purchase. Don't forget to ask if you would like me to sign it 🦡❤️🦇
- Well our volunteers have had a very busy start to August, leading lots of bat walks across the county and attending events, and there's still lots more to come! If you would like to become a volunteer all you need to do is join: www.kentbatgroup.org.uk
- The Great Stour RiverFest 2025 runs from 21 -28 September this year with various activities to take part in, from yoga to guided river walks and of course the all popular bat walks led by our very own Shirley Thompson MBE, for more info: www.kentbatgroup.org.uk/events?start... #visitcanterbury
- Tickets are now available to purchase online for a Bat Walk being organised by Open Faversham on the 22nd August at St Mary of Charity Church in Faversham, led by volunteers from the Kent Bat Group : openfaversham.info?event=2161 Limited tickets so be quick!
- 🦇 Another exciting find for Kent this year! First a Greater mouse-eared and now a Grey long-eared! What will be next?!
- 🦇 We were delighted to find out that a grey long-eared roost has been recorded in Kent for the first time! Read all about it here: www.bats.org.uk/news/2025/07...
- Reposted by Kent Bat Group🦇 A huge shout out to all @kentbatgroup.org.uk bat carers and bat carers across the country looking after displaced bat pups after the sudden hot weather ❤️🦇❤️ If you need help with a bat call @batconservation.bsky.social helpline 0345 1300 228 or Google "help I've found a bat" for advice #lovebats
- A big batty thank you to all our wonderful volunteers this #volunteersweek Illustration by @bzillustrations.bsky.social
- Reposted by Kent Bat Group🦇 #Recruiting ! We are looking for a Membership Officer to join our small but mighty Communications and Fundraising Department! You'll help to maintain and develop positive relationships with existing members & help with recruitment. More info and how to apply: www.bats.org.uk/the-trust/jo...
- Would you like to learn how to identify bats and take part in surveys for the National Bat Monitoring Programme (NBMP)? If so this @batconservation.bsky.social training session is for you. This Wed 30 April 6:30pm - 8:00pm via Zoom. more info and tickets: www.tickettailor.com/events/bctev...
- Reposted by Kent Bat Group🦇We did!!! We reached our target for our #GreenMatchFund campaign. Thank you to everyone who shared and/or donated. We still have 1 day left on the campaign; donations will no longer be matched but they are still very much needed: donate.biggive.org/campaign/a05...
- Reposted by Kent Bat Group🦇The Planning and Infrastructure Bill (PIB) is making its way through Parliament - and we urgently need your help to protect bats and other wildlife. Please ask your MP to help protect wildlife in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill. More information here: www.bats.org.uk/news/2025/04...
- Our fabulous @bzillustrations.bsky.social did a marvellous job last night speaking to the Faversham Natural History group all about our UK bats. Crowborough, a male Common pipistrelle, was a great ambassador and even charmed a few bat-phobic guests. All safety protocols followed.
- 🦇 Many thanks to the Faversham Natural History Group for inviting me to give a talk on bats and being such an enthusiastic audience. Huge thanks also to @doddles.bsky.social for bringing an education bat and for being such a huge support throughout as well as photographer! @kentbatgroup.bsky.social
- The Kent Bat Group were delighted to attend the University for the Creative Arts (UCA) campus in Canterbury today, as part of their #GreenWeek2025 We had some great conversations with students keen on learning more about bat conservation, and some shared their amazing work involving bats with us.
- Reposted by Kent Bat GroupWell said Chris Packham 🦇❤️🦇 Please do contact your MP about this madness! @batconservation.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
- The Infrastructure & Planning Bill will be a disaster for bats and other wildlife, we urge our members to contact their MPs to object. A template letter can be found www.kentbatgroup.org.uk/bats-in-kent... The 2nd reading is tomorrow - please email urgently. @batconservation.bsky.social
- Reposted by Kent Bat Group🦇We are deeply concerned by the government’s latest rhetoric, which wrongly blames bats for slowing house building and infrastructure projects. Better planning needs real solutions, not blame games. BCT's thoughts on this here: www.bats.org.uk/news/2025/03... #bats #planning
- Reposted by Kent Bat GroupBe quick - online booking closes today
- 🦇If you didn't get an in-person ticket to the South East of England Bat Conference, you can still join online: www.bats.org.uk/SEConf . But book quickly; the booking deadline for virtual is TOMORROW 14 March! The conference is on 22 March at the University of Surrey.
- Martyn Cooke, a bat acoustic expert and representative for SonoBat, will be giving our next talk via Zoom on Wednesday 19th March from 7.30pm - 9.30pm. A link will be sent to members nearer the time. Not a member? Sign up now via our website www.kentbatgroup.org.uk/events
- We’ve had a few calls recently about bats being found grounded. Advice can be sought from @batconservation.bsky.social Helpline on 0345 1300 228 and then reported via our website www.kentbatgroup.org.uk/help-ive-fou...
- Reposted by Kent Bat GroupWith just 5 years to go, the world is failing on a vital deal to halt biodiversity loss
- Sean Hanna and @bzillustrations.bsky.social gave a talk to students from the Royal College of Art about bats that hibernate, roost and forage at the Oare GunPowder Works, the students ideas for bringing nature and people together in art are truly inspiring - so this will definitely be worth a visit!
- Reposted by Kent Bat Group🦇 We're getting closer to spring! It is getting warmer and the days are getting longer. Bats may begin to emerge and signs of limited activity can be seen. There are small numbers feeding as it gets warmer. In bad weather, they may become torpid.
- Reposted by Kent Bat GroupLast call! Midnight tonight deadline to apply for a PhD with my group on serotine bat #ecology, helping develop rabies control strategy. Info here (nb. overseas fees waivers available & residency restrictions not relevant as project is field/desk not lab). www.sussex.ac.uk/study/fees-f... #bats
- Understanding the Principles and Techniques of Recording Bats is our next talk via zoom on the 19th March 7.30pm-9.30pm. Martyn Cooke will be providing valuable advice on how to improve your recording techniques for better quality recordings when surveying for bats. www.kentbatgroup.org.uk/events
- Reposted by Kent Bat Group🦇About 4 000 bats (common pipistrelle) hibernating at the Wilhelmsburg in Ulm / Southern Germany www.swr.de/swraktuell/b...
- The final @batconservation.bsky.social NBMP hibernation surveys are being done for the year. Many bats counted, and Herald moths too! We’re packing up some of the kit until next year now.
- We’re at the Herne Bay Seaside Museum until 3 o’clock for their nature day, come along with @kentfieldclub.bsky.social and others. We’d love to see you and have a chat.
- Reposted by Kent Bat Group🦇 Please nominate us to receive £5,000! The more nominations we get, the more chances we have of winning this much needed donation for #bats! Deadline to nominate is 23 Feb! All our info is already filled out so all you have to do is click on the image and add your details Please share widely.
- Important bat survey kit…..
- Great hibernation survey today. We’ve been monitoring roost sites and recording the findings for many years as part of the @batconservation.bsky.social NBMP. All important data to keep track of the status of the UK’s bats.
- Reposted by Kent Bat Group🦇🦡 Great day today with @kentbatgroup.bsky.social celebrating bats and badgers with at the Ash Wildlife Friendly Bat and Badger Conference. Excellent talks by John Puckett of the Kent Bat Group and Martin Newcombe of the East Kent Badger Group, as illustrated below 🦇🦡 #lovebritishwildlife
- Reposted by Kent Bat Group🦇 We are #recruiting! Seasonal Bat Advisors to work as part of the National Bat Helpline and play a vital role in advising and inspiring the public and other key stakeholders about bats in the UK, by sharing your passion for conservation. Deadline: 9am, 10th March www.bats.org.uk/the-trust/jo...
- Reposted by Kent Bat GroupRather pleased with this mixed media commission of a Whiskered bat for my wonderfully batty friend @doddles.bsky.social #lovebats #batillustration #batsinart
- Reposted by Kent Bat Group🦇 If you are missing a good bat walk then Mark Ferguson's 'Walking with Bats' album is for you: buff.ly/483ouzp . Through a series of recorded bat walks you will be transported directly to the field, so you can experience the excitement of bat detecting
- Reposted by Kent Bat GroupSTOP Splat the Bat! Here is some (serious) international guidance I helped with, on preventing collisions of bats on roads and railways. Step 1 . Avoid woodlands and other places with loads of bats. 🦇🦤 #HS2 #batshed @craigbennett3.bsky.social www.eurobats.org/sites/defaul...
- Reposted by Kent Bat Group🦇 Start thinking about how you can turn your garden into a bat haven, so it's ready for bats when they start waking up in spring! After months of hibernation they will need all the food they can get. Find out more here: buff.ly/2HkKSuq
- Reposted by Kent Bat GroupThank you to our @bsky.app followers, please encourage as others to follow our page. Bats continue to be widely misunderstood and undervalued despite being a significant part of our natural heritage. In the UK we have 18 bat species and globally they make up 20% of all mammal species.
- Reposted by Kent Bat GroupRare bats and biodiverse woodland cannot simply be moved, whatever the UK government claims. What should have moved in the HS2 debacle was the route of the line. I wonder why major construction companies preferred to propose a £100M tunnel instead? 🤔 💷🦇🦤. @craigbennett3.bsky.social
- Reposted by Kent Bat Group🚨Bat1K Paper Alert🚨There couldn’t be a better first post for us on this app - excited to share 10 new bat genomes and groundbreaking insights into bat immunity and viral resistance! 🌍🔬 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
- Reposted by Kent Bat GroupGreat blog from @the-wildlifetrusts.bsky.social: Myth-busting bats 🦇, newts 🦎 and the economy 💰 vs nature 🌳 protections www.wildlifetrusts.org/blog/joe-kee... @wclnews.bsky.social @chrisgpackham.bsky.social @wildjustice.bsky.social
- Reposted by Kent Bat Group(2/2) A healthy environment is essential for a thriving economy and there are ways to reduce planning delays whilst also protecting our natural heritage. We have highlighted ways to reduce delays in our planning briefing shared with the government: www.bats.org.uk/news/2025/01...
- Reposted by Kent Bat Group🦇 (1/2) In response to the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s speech today: we believe that blaming the laws that protect bats, newts and other wildlife, as well as our wider environment, for planning delays is short sighted and misguided.
- You can hear Claire Munn talk about our rare Greater mouse-eared bat find in the latest BatChat podcast! podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/t... @batconservation.bsky.social
- Reposted by Kent Bat GroupNot one, but two new greater mouse-eared bat have been found www.bats.org.uk/news/2025/01...
- Reposted by Kent Bat GroupBirds' nests are contaminated by super toxic chemicals from pet fur. Ask your Vet why routine flea treatment is pushed as part of in pet insurance plans when fleas are rarely a welfare issue (Spoiler: 🤑💰). 🦤 www.theguardian.com/environment/... @davegoulson.bsky.social @songbirdsurvival.bsky.social
- Reposted by Kent Bat GroupSerotine. One of my favourite #bats! I have a PhD available, using new methods to find serotine roosts and understand movement patterns. Will help to develop a rabies vaccination strategy: a priority for people and bats! Pls share! www.surrey.ac.uk/bbsrc-wessex... @batconservation.bsky.social 🦤🌍🦇
- Reposted by Kent Bat GroupBat inspired Valentines Day Cards and Mugs are available to purchase from my Etsy shop, with a donation to @kentbatgroup.bsky.social and @batconservation.bsky.social with every sale. Love bats and Love bats at the same time! #lovebats #I'mbatsaboutyou bizzyillustrations.etsy.com
- Unbelievably exciting news, a Greater mouse-eared bat has been found during an #NBMP hibernation survey in Dover! This is the first record of this species in Kent since 1985. Well done Claire and huge thanks to @fionamathews.bsky.social and Dr John Puckett for helping to confirm ID
- January's NBMP Hibernation Surveys are in full swing, with many sites yielding good numbers of hibernating bats. Thank you to all licence holders and volunteers for carrying out these vital surveys. www.kentbatgroup.org.uk/volunteering #kentbatgroup #nbmp
- Reposted by Kent Bat Group🦇 Please do not disturb hibernating bats. Not only is it illegal to do so but it can endanger their chances of survival as they can use vital fat reserves when they become active unnecessarily. If you find a bat in an exposed location please follow the advice on our website: buff.ly/47OkUZN
- Reposted by Kent Bat GroupPlease share to groups and posts! 🦇 I am an author!!!! I have decided to donate 10% of my royalties to Bat Conservation Trust for my upcoming joint book with Pelagic Publishing pelagicpublishing.com/products/ide... #author #book #wildlife #animals #bats #conservation #pelagicpublishing
- Reposted by Kent Bat Group🦇 Are UK bats threatened? Read more to find out:
- Our events page already has some excellent talks, events and volunteering opportunities for 2025 listed: www.kentbatgroup.org.uk/events #kentbatgroup
- Reposted by Kent Bat Group🦇 The #WildlifeCrimeProject works in partnership to reduce the level of bat-related crime in the UK. The project aims to ensure that bat and other wildlife crimes are reported and recorded. Find out more about this project, including monthly updates (WCP News): buff.ly/4h3XaFx
- An exciting new book has been released, grab your copy just in time for winter surveying!
- Congratulations James! You can pre-order his book now: pelagicpublishing.com/collections/... James is kindly donating 10% of the royalties from this book to our work to continue to help bats. Thank you for all you do for bat conservation.
