Volunteers Needed – Driving Bat Surveys

Hi all, The Northern Ireland Bat Group has a request for two or more volunteers to complete the car based (driving) bat surveys in Northern Ireland.  The areas where volunteers are required These surveys are for J06 (east of Lough Neagh) and H13 (Fermanagh).  The surveys are completed by driving along a predetermined route (the […]

Volunteer Bat Survey Training

Hi all, We are very grateful to Karen Healy for presenting a “Use your ears” workshop and emergence survey at Creggan Country Park in Derry.  If you would like to take part in this event booking is essential.

Dusk Bat Survey – Clare Glen

Hi all, Many thanks to those who took part in the bat roost visitors licence training visit on 25 May 2023. The survey identified there was a common pipistrelle roost in the building being surveyed for between 200 and 250 individuals. What was noted by some of the attendees, was that bats were roosting in […]

Bat care training 2023

Hi all, The Northern Ireland Bat Group (NIGB) are proud to present two courses to support bat care for 2023. The NIGB have a long history of providing bat care. Learning from our members will give you access to individuals, who are considered experts in this field. You will also be part of a wider […]

Found a grounded or injured bat?

Grounded bat Sometimes bats may ground themselves in bad weather or they may just be exhausted and land on the ground.  If you find a bat on the ground or on a wall, try to contain it by: Wear thick gloves and find a box with a secure lid such as a shoebox Using a […]

Get Involved

Want to learn more about bats in Northern Ireland? Why not join our amazing team of volunteers and help take action to protect bats. Volunteering with us could include any or all of the following: Become a bat ambulance driver and transport bats in need of help to the nearest bat carer Help count bats […]

Merry Christmas and Batty New Year

AGM 2022

It’s almost AGM time again so we would like to call on all of our current members to nominate themselves or someone else for the following voluntary roles: – Chairperson – Treasurer – Secretary – Records Secretary – Committee member If you have some free time (even an hour a week) & would like to […]

Saving bats one roost at a time

Our amazing volunteers Andrew Kelvin and Rachel Baine have been working behind the scenes the past few months to secure the future of a soprano pipistrelle maternity roost in Sheskburn House, Ballycastle. Andrew has been a bat carer and bat roost visitor with the Northern Ireland Bat Group for the past seven years and Rachel […]

Dr Ian Forsyth MBE

We were saddened to hear about the loss of Dr Ian Forsyth MBE, a founding member of the Northern Ireland Bat Group in 1985. Dr Ian (John) Forsyth MBE, known to many as ‘Ian’ was a husband to the late Dr Pamela Allen, a founder member and former committee member of the Northern Ireland Bat […]