The Scottish Wildlife Trust is glad to announce the recording of the first Leisler’s bat on the Isle of Bute.
Recently, Helen Simmons, one of a team of ten trainee Experts for Nature on the Scottish Wildlife Trust’s training programme, Developing Ecological Surveying Skills, borrowed the team’s new Anabat bat detector, to get some survey practice when she went home to Bute for the weekend in May.
While out practising, Helen managed to get the first ever recording of Leisler’s bat on the island.
The species range has now officially been confirmed the farthest north on the west coast of Scotland than previously known by bat expert John Haddow, who runs the Scottish Leisler’s Bat Project along with Stuart Spray.
Scottish Wildlife Trust’s Programme Leader, Claudia Gebhardt, said “I am delighted to see how enthusiastic Scottish Wildlife Trust trainee Helen is about bats.
“She has taken the course’s professional bat detector to her home island of Bute and recorded the rare Leisler’s bat.
“This is a very important find, because the species was not known on Bute before and therefore Helen has extended the range of Leisler’s bat in Scotland”.
The trainees just started their eighteen month training in mid-March 2013.
This is the second group of ten trained under this project, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund’s Skills for the Future programme.
The previous group finished training in November 2012 and within six months they were all either employed or self employed in ecological survey work.
The training is a unique blend of field-based practical experience with training given by a wide range of experts in their respective fields, from more than twenty different organisations.
The trainees also gain a SQA accredited Professional Development Award in Ecological Surveying.
Scottish Wildlife Trust’s Director of Conservation, Jonathan Hughes said: “Everyone at the Scottish Wildlife Trust is thrilled with Helen’s discovery.
“It just goes to show how important the Experts for Nature programme is for developing enthusiastic conservationists with a strong knowledge-base for the future.
Colin McLean, Head of the Heritage Lottery Fund in Scotland, said: “We have some wonderful native wildlife in Scotland and it’s exciting that new discoveries are still being made.
“This Skills for the Future project gives us the opportunity to learn more about Leisler’s bat while giving people the knowledge and training needed to help safeguard its existence.”
The Experts for Nature team will join the Scottish Leisler’s project team on Arran in July for more bat surveying.
Scottish Wildlife Trust would like to thank our members for their generous contributions to this project and the Heritage Lottery Fund for additional funding to continue this important training.