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11th Irish Bat Conference
Bat Conservation Ireland is delighted to invite you to the 11th Irish Bat Conference. This will be held in Riddel Hall, Queens University, Stranmillis Road, Belfast in March 2026.
Saturday (or all weekend) tickets include access to all talks, posters and exhibitions on Saturday, tea breaks and a delicious lunch as well as a wine reception on Saturday evening. Sunday (or all weekend) tickets include access to all workshops, posters and exhibitions on Sunday morning, a tea break and another delicious lunch.
We have a busy programme with over 25 talks planned for Saturday on topics as varied as the impacts of noise and light on bats, bats and pest suppression, monitoring schemes, lesser horseshoe bat conservation, physiology, bat migration and offshore wind. See the conference programme here– please note this may be subject to change in the run up to the conference.
SATURDAY KEYNOTE PRESENTERS
Lothar Bach of Bach-Freilandforschung consultancy has been working on bats and wind energy for almost 30 years and Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) for over 18 years. He has also made extensive contributions to the EUROBATS Working Group on Wind Energy. He has carried out many research collaborations to accumulate a considerable body of work relating to impacts of wind energy on bats. Research topics have included estimating densities of migrating bats and development of suitable mitigation for ORE, investigating migratory pathways using stable isotopes, radiotracking studies in the North Sea and much more.
Dr Christina Stanley is an Associate Professor in Animal Behaviour and Welfare at the University of Chester, where she is currently Deputy Head of the School of Natural Sciences. She is a behavioural ecologist researching the social experiences of animals, with a focus on bats. Dr Stanley has focused on research with practical applications to conservation and the quantification of animal welfare. For example, a long-term project working with the endangered Livingstone’s fruit bat has significantly improved our ability to manage captive breeding populations of this and other fruit bat species. She is currently leading a Leverhulme Trust-funded project that will improve our ability to mitigate against anthropogenic impacts on wild lesser horseshoe bats. This project, named the “BATMAN” project (standing for “BAT Monitoring via novel Assays and smart Nanoelectronics”) and in collaboration with the Vincent Wildlife Trust, will also facilitate the assessment of wild bat welfare and design exciting new technology for monitoring small-bodied bats.
SUNDAY WORKSHOPS
On Sunday morning we have a packed schedule with six excellent workshops. The provisional conference programme including Sunday workshops can be downloaded from the link above – see more info below on some of our workshop leaders and topics.
Drone Thermal Imaging Bat Roost Surveys
Giles Coe is a commercial ecologist who has been in practice since 2001. He has worked at all levels within the ecological consultancy sector and since 2021 has run a small, dedicated company based in the south-east of England but with a project portfolio that stretches from Cornwall to North Wales and North-East Scotland. Giles’ work with bats has been ongoing since 2004 and includes surveys and assessments of large historic buildings, subterranean structures and factory complexes. Since 2023 Giles and team have been developing the use of drone mounted thermal imaging for bat surveys and had their protocol Bats & Aerial Thermal Surveys published in the CIEEM quarterly magazine.
Bat-friendly Lighting Design
Kerem Asfuroglu is the founder of Dark Source, an award-winning lighting design studio driven by environmental values based in Ireland & the UK. Following his graduation from Wismar University – Architectural Lighting Design MA in 2010, Kerem pursued his professional design career in London for nearly a decade before setting up Dark Source in 2019. He has been awarded with the title of Dark Sky Defender by the Dark Sky International for advocating the importance of darkness through design. Some of his environmental lighting projects include the Newport Dark Sky Masterplan, Plas Y Brenin Outdoor Centre, Presteigne Dark Sky Community, Cloughjordan Ecovillage and Cumbria TAN Dark Sky Planning Policy.
Optimising the Value of Static Surveillance for Routine Bat Surveys
Tina Aughney of Bat Eco Services and has a wealth of bat field expertise from Ireland and abroad. With this workshop she aims to provide strategies on the deployment of static detectors and how to utilise statics detectors to provide greater insight into nightly activities of bats. This will be followed by guidance on the analysis and presentation of the data gathered to insure that the value of the survey is fully represented in reports.
Wildlife Acoustics SM5 and SMART Technology – A Curtailment System for Wind Turbines
Paul Howden Leach of Wildlife Acoustics will take us through the new SM5 unit and SMART Technology that aims to reduce bat fatalities at wind turbines. He will also introduce the Song Meter Mini2/Micro 2 preview what else is in development at Wildlife Acoustics.
Enhancing Bat Ecology and Monitoring with Ecology Detection Dogs: Best Practices and Guidance
Caroline Finlay and Cathal Bergin of Ecology Detection Dog Working Group of Britain and Ireland will showcase recent advances in the field. They will present an evidence-based framework to optimise detection dog performance outlining crucial factors such as handler-dog training, environmental conditions, and study design considerations. They will also offer practical advice for researchers and practitioners.
Bats and Trees
David Clarke – Bat Ecologist at Bat Conservation Ireland, will explore how to deal with tree surveys for bats in line with the best guidelines and practices available. The workshop will primarily focus on conducting ground level tree assessments, learning how to identify some of the most common potential roost features present in trees including some of the more often overlooked features such as ivy cover. It will also cover other considerations including desktop surveys, equipment needed and more advanced survey techniques when it comes to monitoring bats in trees effectively and lawfully.
Tickets on sale now via our Ticket Tailor site here!
For accommodation options we are linked in with IBIS Queens Quarter. They have offered a 10% discount on their best available rate at the time of booking. Tel: 028 9033 3366 > Press Option 1 > Press Option 2 (use prefix 048 instead of 028 if dialling from Republic of Ireland); [email protected]. To avail of the discounted rate, you will need to quote 11th Irish Bat 2026, when booking directly with them. Their office hours are Monday to Friday – 9am to 5pm.