In June, Billie and Bryony to were lucky enough to travel to the Greek island of Ikaria to research the islands’ bat population with Geoff Billington, Greena Ecological Consultancy
By day, Billie and Bryony were searching for new bat roosts, and by night they were catching bats using mist nests and harp traps. A number of bat species were recorded including maternity roosts for Blasius’s horseshoe bat Rhinolophus blasii, Geoffroy’s bat Myotis emarginatus, greater mouse eared bat Myotis myotis and greater horseshoe bat Rhinolophus ferrumequinum.
Some of these roosts were found in sea caves which made their discovery all the more exciting! The results of the surveys will be shared with the Greek Government and will help build an understanding of bat species distribution and populations in this area.
Hopefully this will be the first ‘research’ adventure of many, we will certainly keep you updated!
