Talking Bat

Brock Fenton (Emeritus Professor - University of Western Ontario, Canada) has been studying bats in some shape or form since the early 1960s. He is hugely respected internationally for his academic work, his contributions to bat conservation, as well as which he has authored/co-authored numerous books. During this interview we explore his background, as well as getting into some detail regarding bat evolution. The interview was timed to coincide with the release of the book 'A Miscellany of Bats' which he co-authored with his good friend Jens Rydell.

Ear Anatomy Traces a Family Tree for Bats - M. Brock Fenton

Bat Conservation International website here

Dr Mirjam Knornschild is the Head of Behavioural Ecology & Bioacoustics Lab for the Museum of Natural History in Berlin. She is internationally recognised & highly respected for, amongst other things, her research into bat acoustics, in particular species occurring in Costa Rica, Panama & southern Africa. During this interview we explore her back-story, as well as talk about some of her academic work. We also dip into other aspects of bat-related studies & challenges when it comes to studying these fascinating mammals in the field.

Find out more via Mirjam's research website here

Visit Deutsche Fledermauswarte (German Bat Observatory) website here

Alexandra Howard is a PhD candidate carrying out research on bats in southern Africa. Here we explore her life journey so far, as well as her research interests, along with dipping into other aspects of life & the challenges of being a bat researcher in Africa.

Every month Aileen Hendry (BatAbility Courses & Tuition) is joined by Neil Middleton to deliver a 'light-hearted' monthly update for our BatAbility Club members. We are sharing it here for the benefit of anyone who wishes to find out more about what we are up to.

If you are not a Club member, but would like to know more about how to join up, please go to the following link: batability.co.uk/batability-club/

Peter Taylor's research focuses on bats & other small mammals in natural & agricultural landscapes in southern Africa. He has contributed significantly to science & conservation, & during this interview we explore his life journey, along with many of his thoughts about the research he has been involved with & the books he has authored/co-authored.

Bats of Southern & Central Africa - find out more here 

The Bat Interest Group of KwaZulu-Natal (formerly the Durban Bat Interest Group) - find out more here

Originally from the UK, & now living in New Zealand, Ian Davidson-Watts is highly respected internationally as a bat researcher & consultant. His career to date has had many twists & turns, across a number of roles & countries, as you will hear about during this fascinating insight into his life. 

Find out more about Davidson-Watts Ecology here

Find out more about GoFundMe 'Save the Isle Of Wight Bat Hospital' here

Hooked onto natural history from early childhood, Sandie Sowler commenced with her first serious venture into bats in 1969 whilst still at university. Since then she has achieved a huge amount & contributed significantly to the world of bats. Highly respected internationally, during this interview we talk about her early research, her time within the consultancy sector, as well as her experiences contributing to the delivery of training courses and survey guidelines (in particular within the UK & South Africa). And if that's not enough - we also explore many of the non-bat-related  activities she gets involved with.

Jon Russ is hugely respected & well known to us all as the author of books relating to bat acoustics & identification, he also has his own consultancy business, Ridgeway Ecology. During this in depth interview into his back-story & life experiences we explore in some detail his academic research, some projects he has been heavily involved with (e.g. the Nathusius' pipistrelle in GB & Northern Ireland), as well, of course, the popular books themselves, including the recently published Bat Calls of Britain & Europe

Every month Aileen Hendry (BatAbility Courses & Tuition) is joined by Neil Middleton to deliver a 'light-hearted' monthly update for our BatAbility Club members. We are sharing it here for the benefit of anyone who wishes to find out more about what we are up to.

If you are not a Club member, but would like to know more about how to join up, please go to the following link: batability.co.uk/batability-club/

We are very pleased to have with us, once again, Volker Runkel. This time we focus on his book, 'The Handbook of Acoustic Bat Detection'. Along with this we explore the development of successful bat acoustic projects, as well as working with automated classifiers.

Find 'The Handbook of Acoustic Bat Detection' book here

Find 'Handbuch: Praxis der Akustischen Fledermauserfassung' here

Visit EcoObs website here