iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Dave A @batworker.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

And again. Surprising spot to record Alpine Long Eared bats…

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Dave A @batworker.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Sometimes you just have to improvise how you place your 🦇 bat detectors.

Apodemus PippyG and PippyG 2 bat detectors hanging on a clothes line

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Dave A @batworker.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Spending some time in Georgia and have been blown away at the level of bat activity and diversity once you’re out of the cities. Have got so much data to review once I get home. BTO pipeline classifiers are proving invaluable when a single night produces 29gb and 8000 files of 🦇 recordings.

Sonograms of bats foraging over the Kura river

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Dave A @batworker.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Always good to share our findings with other bat workers and researchers. Have been a bit blown away by the interest shown since my presentation at the @batconservation.bsky.social National Conference. Now onto the next stage of research…

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Dave A @batworker.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

The Apodemus PippyG 2 is not your average bat 🦇 detector. Beautifully clean recordings so far, looking forward to testing it on a trip to Georgia later this month. #bat #chiroptera

Apodemus PippyG 2 bat detector in its waterproof bag.

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Dave A @batworker.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Brown Long Eared harmonics? Just downloaded this example 👍

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Dave A @batworker.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

Autumn swarming has started. After weeks of only Natterer’s 🦇 present, this week sees the arrival of Brandt’s and Brown Long eared bats.

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Dave A @batworker.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

There’s been an influx of aestivating Peacock (Aglais io) butterflies over the last two weeks. Count has gone from 30 to 125. Interesting that there are plenty of pairs together… #lepidoptera #butterflies

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Dave A @batworker.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

Natterer’s mums flying and social calling to entice the youngsters out.

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Dave A @batworker.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

A lot of wing stretching going on with these young of year Natterer’s bats 🦇 Some needed quite a bit of encouragement to fly. Might be a couple of weeks yet before we see them at our swarming site… #bats #chiroptera #research

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Dave A @batworker.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

Sometimes that first flight doesn’t go as expected. Lovely young female Natterer’s bat 🦇 in for rehydration and some food before we reunite her with her colony.

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Dave A @batworker.bsky.social · 28/06/2026

We’re using a ZEISS Secacam to monitor a Noctule 🦇 roost remotely. Great to know the bats are in the roost before setting off on a 1.5 hour drive to carry out a survey.

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Dave A @batworker.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

Possibly Samsoniella scoliopterygis fungus on Herald Moth. A first record while on the hunt for evidence of Lesser Horseshoe bats 🦇 in a Lancashire cave.

Samsoniella scoliopterygis on Herald Moth

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Dave A @batworker.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

Great to receive some funding to allow us to resume the search for the most northerly UK Lesser Horseshoe bats. We’ll be back in Bowland cave and woodland monitoring to see if we can track them down and locate roosts. #bats #chiroptera #conservation #research #ecology

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Dave A @batworker.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

Clearly still a lot to learn about how and why different bat 🦇species approach swarming and hibernation. Last visit of the “winter” season to this particular site, but we’ve clear objectives for where research is headed.

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Dave A @batworker.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

Brandt’s bats 🦇 now on their 37th consecutive week in hibernation. It’s going to be interesting to see just when they eventually emerge. #bats #chiroptera #conservation #ecology

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Dave A @batworker.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

Still plenty of hibernating Brandt’s bats 🦇 above the 500m contour in the Yorkshire Dales. Very little movement so far… #bats #chiroptera #research #conservation #ecology

Adult and juvenile hibernating Brandt’s bats

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Dave A @batworker.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

Emergence survey season starts next week, but we’ve still got Brandt’s bats 🦇 in deep torpor in their hibernation sites. #bats #chiroptera #hibernation

Brandt’s bat in torpor at an underground hibernation site.

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Dave A @batworker.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

Has bat detecting ever been more accessible? PippyG static 🦇 detector placed in a hedge and picking up nice clean Lesser and Greater Horseshoe bats, alongside Pipistrelles and Barbastelle. All for £60! Thanks to @ramoneskaraoke.bsky.social

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Dave A @batworker.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

Arrived early for the @batconservation.bsky.social SW 🦇 Conference. PippyG left on the front of the van last night. Greater Horseshoe and Barbastelle bats using the hedgerow of the campsite is a nice bonus.

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Dave A @batworker.bsky.social · 16/04/2026

Thought we’d be carrying out our last hibernation survey of the season today, but the Brandt’s are still in torpor. Tonight we’re surveying for spring swarming Brown Long Eared and Natterer’s bats🦇 down at valley level.

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Dave A @batworker.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

Same bat 🦇, same crevice 30/05/25.

Daubenton’s bat with abcess/growth on muzzle.

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Dave A @batworker.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

Honestly thought this Daubenton’s bat wouldn’t survive the winter with such a pronounced abcess/growth on its muzzle. Last recorded present in this crevice on 03/10/25, it’s just arrived back.

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Dave A @batworker.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

The more data we collect on Natterer’s and Daubenton’s bat use of this 🦇swarming site, the better the fit to @berlinbatlab.bsky.social work on Greater Mouse Eared bat mating strategy.

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Dave A @batworker.bsky.social · 26/03/2026

Winter isn’t over yet above the 500m contour. All change at the valley floor though with an influx of Natterer’s bats 🦇

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Dave A @batworker.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

Working through the bat 🦇 recordings from Singapore. There’s some lovely examples of social calling

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Dave A @batworker.bsky.social · 09/03/2026

And on the last day I finally managed to find a Lesser Mouse Deer, after missing the Greater Mouse Deer on Pulau Ubin

Lesser Mouse Deer, Tragulus kanchil in Singapore

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Dave A @batworker.bsky.social · 09/03/2026

Thanks to @marcuschua.bsky.social for taking time to show me the bat collections at Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum. A good counter to nights spent recording bat calls. Now it’s time to sit down, fire up the laptop, and work out what 🦇 species I recorded.

Bat display at Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum

Christmas Island Pipistrelles in Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum collections

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Dave A @batworker.bsky.social · 24/02/2026

If there was a competition for best bat 🦇 house, this would get my nomination. Home to Lesser False Vampire bats…

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Dave A @batworker.bsky.social · 19/02/2026

The Zouk Family Clan of Smooth Coated Otters alongside the Singapore River, surrounded by housing. Staff present to make sure the Otters aren’t disturbed, and temporary fencing to keep the public a safe distance away. There’s a lot the UK could learn about integrating wildlife into urban settings.

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Dave A @batworker.bsky.social · 14/02/2026

Valentine’s Day is the perfect time for a repost of my favourite cluster of hibernating Greater Mouse Eared bats. #LoveBats

Greater Mouse Eared bats cluster hibernating.

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Dave A @batworker.bsky.social · 14/02/2026

Five minute walk from the hotel. Fairly sure I’ve recorded Large Footed Myotis, Asian House bat, Pouched Tomb bat, plus a few more 🦇 so far. Need to get some laptop time for some serious ID work.

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Dave A @batworker.bsky.social · 12/02/2026

A fruitless search for Bamboo bats, but the bird life and reptiles made up for it.

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Dave A @batworker.bsky.social · 11/02/2026

Crash course in echolocation ID of South East Asia bats 🦇 First night in Singapore went well. Today is all about tracking down some Bamboo bats.

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Dave A @batworker.bsky.social · 07/02/2026

Last winter 🦇 check for a while. Good numbers of hibernating Brandt’s bats recorded above the 500m contour.

Low water levels this winter underground.

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Dave A @batworker.bsky.social · 06/02/2026

PippyG 🦇 3D printed cases ready for some field testing.

3D printed cases for the PippyG bat detector covered in Realtree camo gaffa tape.

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Dave A @batworker.bsky.social · 17/01/2026

The frogs have decided spring is coming…

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Dave A @batworker.bsky.social · 11/01/2026

Love bats 🦇 Nietoperek census 2026 is a mind blowing experience. So honoured to have the chance to take part in the weekend.

Hibernating Greater Mouse Eared bats in Nietoperek tunnel system.

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Dave A @batworker.bsky.social · 06/01/2026

Finally cold enough for the Brown Long Eared bats to enter the hibernation site. If it warms up they’ll likely leave again…

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Dave A @batworker.bsky.social · 31/12/2025

On the eve of a new year of research into how bats 🦇 use swarming sites. We’ve got the promise of funding to open up new avenues of investigation; always more questions that need answering…

Young of year Daubenton’s bats in a swarming site.

Young of year Natterer’s bats in a swarming site.

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Dave A @batworker.bsky.social · 22/12/2025

Time off means time to test out extending the runtime on a PippyG detector…

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Dave A @batworker.bsky.social · 16/12/2025

Still miss getting post like this 🦇

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Dave A @batworker.bsky.social · 15/12/2025

When your 🦇 bat research partner delivers an early Christmas present…

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Dave A @batworker.bsky.social · 28/11/2025

And this week a second ringed bat has arrived.

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Dave A @batworker.bsky.social · 27/11/2025

Fancy having a leadmine in your back garden. Glad we’ve been allowed access to monitor the bats 🦇 hibernating in it…

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Dave A @batworker.bsky.social · 21/11/2025

Massive influx of Natterer’s bats at valley level marks the official start of hibernation season (last week they were still swarming). And the cherry on top was the return of Z0266, a bat ringed as an adult in 2005. That makes four 21+ year old 🦇 still turning up ( @johnaltringham.bsky.social )

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Dave A @batworker.bsky.social · 20/11/2025

‘Winter arrives on the wings of a Brown Long Eared bat’ While the Brandt’s bats 🦇 have been underground since early September, it always takes a sub zero snap to push the Long Eareds into hibernation. #bats #chiroptera #research #conservation #ecology

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Dave A @batworker.bsky.social · 13/11/2025

This has to be one of the most photogenic hibernation sites. Mineral rich, glittering and full of Brandt’s bats 🦇

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