BatChat
Episodes
Edward Wells - Somerset Bat Group
17 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week we sit down with Edward Wells from the Somerset Bat Group and talk about bats in the county and the work being done to protect them. Edward’...
The Hoffman Kiln: Where Bats Reclaim the Dales
03 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
North of Settle in the Yorkshire Dales lies the Hoffman Kiln, a relic of the industrial revolution. It's now an important site for bats of the Da...
Pencelli’s Hidden Roost — 50 Years of the Vincent Wildlife Trust
19 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of BatChat, we explore the 50-year history of the Vincent Wildlife Trust (VWT) and its vital role in bat conservation. I speak with CE...
Chris Packham on Bats, Bills and the Battle for Britain’s Wildlife
05 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
S7E68 We're back with a brand new series and we're starting this exciting new collection of interviews with our President, Chris Packham. We...
Series 7 is ready to take flight
29 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We introduce our upcoming series, BatChat, premiering on November 5th. The series will explore the intriguing world of bats while also highlighting wi...
Big News – Behind the Mic
23 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We’ve hit a milestone - and it’s all thanks to you! In this special bonus episode, host Steve Roe takes you behind the scenes of BatChat: from the...
Frome After Dark: A Town on the Hunt for Bats
26 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
S6E66 In this episode, we're in the charming market town of Frome in Somerset, where the locals take part in a hands-on citizen science event. Ar...
Restore Nature Now
12 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
S6E65 In this noisy episode, we’re taking you to the heart of the Restore Nature Now march in Central London, where 60,000+ passionate individuals g...
NightWatch: Breaking Barriers to Bat Conservation
26 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
S6E64 In this episode of BatChat, we’re shining a spotlight on NightWatch, a groundbreaking community science project from the Bat Conservation Trus...
Farms, Bats & Climate: Connecting Communities
12 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
S6E63 Climate change is shifting the landscape—literally. But what does that mean for wildlife, especially bats? This episode takes us into the Conn...
The Bat Night Market
29 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
S6E62 🌙 The Bat Night MarketImagine a world without bats. Ever heard of a market that comes alive at night—just like bats? We visit the Bat Night...
Where Do Pipistrelles Go? A Winter Mystery
15 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
S6E61 Recorded in the winter of 2024, in this episode we travel to the Northumberland coastline to a National Trust property called Seaton Delaval Hal...
Into the Forest: Barbastelle Bats of Pembrokeshire
01 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
S6E60. In this episode, we venture into the ancient Pengelli Forest in Pembrokeshire to uncover the story behind one of the region's most remarka...
An Evening with Somerset's Rarest Bat
11 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
S6E59 This week, we’re diving into an evening adventure at the stunning Tintinhull Gardens in Somerset, owned by the National Trust. Joining the Som...
Batting on a Budget: Phil Atkin’s Game-Changing Bat Detector
27 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
S6Ep58 In this episode of BatChat, Steve sits down with Phil Atkin, the creator of a groundbreaking bat detector that’s making waves in the bat cons...
Into the Knapp: A Night Walk with Worcestershire Bat Group
13 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Step into the nocturnal world of the Knapp and Papermill Reserve with the Worcestershire Bat Group! In this immersive field recording, join us for a u...
Megan McCubbin
30 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
S6E56 We’re back with a brand new series! At the 2024 National Bat Conference at the University of Reading, zoologist and wildlife TV presenter Mega...
Our 6th Series is just around the corner...
09 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Get ready for an action-packed Series 6 of BatChat! This season, we're bringing you breaking news from the bat world, and that’s just the begin...
How to get a bat licence - with Richard Crompton
06 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
S5E55 Sat in the entrance to a cave in Wales, hidden amongst temperate rainforest, Richard Crompton gives you his insight into the best way to go abou...
Bats at the National Trust
21 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
S5E54 This week Steve sits down with Joanne Hodgkins, nature conservation advisor for the National Trust. Sitting in the hot August sunshine at The Vy...
The sonic success of David King; Inventor of BatBox detectors
07 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
S5E53 This week we join David King who created the BatBox III and BatBox Duet detectors amongst several others for four decades. David tells Steve of ...
Bat Tracking; the drones changing the way we can undertake research
24 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
S5E52 Steve calls in to Canberra, Australia to chat with Dr Debbie Saunders. For over 20 years Debbie has worked as an ecologist and studied the mov...
Bats in the Channel: Jersey Bat Group
10 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
S5E51 Join Steve in early summer on the Island of Jersey as he sits down with a trio from the bat group. In this interview we hear about the historic ...
Boathouse to Bat House
27 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
S5E50 On the edge of Kidderminster lies Hurcott Pool and Wood Nature Reserve. An old boathouse on the edge of the pool has been repurposed by Worceste...
Walking with bats
13 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
S5E49 This week we join BCT member Mark Ferguson who has just released his latest album; Walking With Bats. What does it sound like to go bat detectin...
The Lifesaving Legacy of Livingstone's Fruit Bats at Jersey Zoo
29 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
S5E48 Jersey Zoo in the Channel Islands is home to 90% of the world's captive population of Livingstone's fruit bats. With an estimated 1300...
Gargoyle Guardians: A Bat Count at Lacock Abbey with the Wiltshire Bat Group
15 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
S5E47 On the edge of the Cotswolds lies Lacock Abbey, home to Professor Quirrel's classroom and the Mirror of Erised. But whilst millions of peop...
The Bechstein's of Bracketts
01 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
S5E46 Hidden in west Dorset is a nature reserve which holds a very special secret. A bat box scheme which was installed in the late 1990's is hom...
It's time for Series 5!
18 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
BatChat Series 5 is set to kick off on Wednesday November 1st, with an exciting lineup of guests and fascinating interviews. Stay tuned for more great...
A new exhibition of wildlife sound at the British Library
26 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
S4E45 - Bonus! This summer, in a major new exhibition, you can see how documenting the animal world has resulted in some of humankind’s most awe-ins...
Wild Isles
02 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
S4E44 - Bonus! The landmark nature documentary series Wild Isles, presented by Sir David Attenborough is currently transmitting on Sunday's at 7p...
The History of Bat Conservation with Dr Bob Stebbings
01 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
S4E43 As series four comes to a close, Steve sits down with a titan of bat conservation. Dr Robert (Bob) Stebbings is one of the original bat workers ...
Winged passions: The bat basement of Cliveden House
15 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
S4E42 This week Steve joins Chris Damant in the grounds of Cliveden House on the banks of the River Thames. As fine dining takes place in the hotel ab...
Tony Hutson & the greater mouse-eared bat
01 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
S4E41 Tony Hutson has been shouting about bats since the 1960's and has changed the bat conservation landscape in that time. He was a founding me...
How the Western Link could affect the Western barbastelle
18 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
S4E40 In this interview recorded right at the end of August 2022, Steve is sat in a Norfolk woodland with Dr Charlotte Packman. We learn what potentia...
The bat man of Mexico
04 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
S4E39 Rodrigo MedellÃn is Mexico's very own 'Bat Man'. Since he first kept vampire bats in his bathroom as a child, Rodrigo has dedica...
Bat flies with Dr Erica McAlister
21 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
S4E38 We return to London's Natural History Museum. This time however, we're in the bowels of the Diptera collection with flygirl herself, D...
Haddon Hall
07 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
S4E37 Haddon Hall, the private residence of Lord and Lady Edward Manners, is set in the Peak District in the valley of the River Wye. With nine hund...
The find of the century
23 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
S4E36 You join us in a secret location this week. Back in 2019, Scotty Dodd from the Sussex Bat Group made the most significant discovery in the histo...
Bat roost visit service
09 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
S4E35 We're back with a brand new series! This week Steve joins a volunteer roost visitor, Chris Smith from Staffordshire Bat Group, on a roost v...
Series 4 is nearly here!
19 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
BatChat is returning on 9th November 2022 with series 4 and we want to hear from you!Yes that's right; you guys, your voices, on this show. We wa...
Knepp Rewilding Estate
23 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
S3E34 Hidden amongst the boughs of an Oak tree, Steve & his guests look down over the Knepp Castle Rewilding Estate; former farmland which has bee...
The National Bat Monitoring Programme
09 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
S3E33 Discover the amazing work taking place in the dead of night each year by hoards of volunteers. This episode starts with Steve joining a team of ...
Angela Mills; Bobby the brown long-eared bat
23 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
S3E32 Join Steve on the Welcombe Hills overlooking Stratford-upon-Avon as he sits down with the author of Bobby the brown long-eared bat, a children&a...
Bat conservation in action with Jim Mullholland
09 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
S3E31 This week Steve is on the Tortworth Estate in south Gloucestershire with Jim Mullholland. They're joined by a voluntary team of arborists w...
Bats at RHS Wisley
26 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
S3E30 This week Steve is in Surrey at RHS Garden Wisley with Principal Entomologist Dr Andrew Salisbury. Andrew sits down with Steve in the brand new ...
A bat call library with Martyn Cooke
12 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
S3E29 This week Steve joins Martyn Cooke outside a holiday cottage in Staffordshire as they set up a matrix of bat detectors to record the sound of Br...
Jon Russ
29 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
S3E28 This week Steve is joined in a Derbyshire churchyard by Jon Russ who is an expert on bat echolocation calls. They discuss how Jon got into study...
Bats with Altitude - Rich Flight
15 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
S3E27 This week Steve is in the Lake District National Park with Ecologist and Chair of south Cumbria Bat Group Rich Flight. Rich published the findin...
Children's books with Emma Reynolds
01 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
S3E26 This week Steve is at Chorlton Water Park Nature Reserve in Manchester with author and illustrator Emma Reynolds. Emma's debut author-illus...
Barbastelles at Paston Great Barn
17 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
S3E25 This week Steve is on the Norfolk coastline in the East of England visiting Jane Harris from the Norfolk barbastelle study group. Paston Great B...
Gareth Jones - A lifetime of research
03 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
S3E24 BatChat is back for a third series! Steve is on the roof of the biological sciences building with Professor Gareth Jones where he talks to Steve...
We're back with Season 3!
27 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Hello everyone it’s Steve here from BatChat here to tell you that a brand new series is going to be along on Wednesday. I know it’s been a long wa...
Bats in Churches with Barry Collins
03 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
S2E23 For the final episode of Series 2 we join Nottinghamshire Bat Group member Barry Collins at a Leicestershire Church where he talks to Steve abou...
Woodland Symposium
17 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
S2E22 The 2020 Woodland Symposium was hosted by BCT, six years after the inaugural symposium. It bought together landowners, ecologists, bat workers a...
Chester Zoo - Twilight Zone
03 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
S2E21 Chester Zoo is the most visited zoo in the UK with over 2 million visitors a year. It's also a conservation and education charity committed...
Going Underground on a Hibernation Survey
20 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
S2E20 Steve joins Helen Ball and other members of Staffordshire Bat Group as they undertake a winter hibernation survey for the National Bat Monitorin...
Our CEO, Kit Stoner
06 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
S2E19 The Bat Conservation Trust is a small conservation charity but undertakes a vast amount of work in their aim to conserve bats. During the runup ...
Sue Swift & friends at the Scottish Bat Conference
23 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
S2E18 In November 2019 before the word Coronavirus had become all-too familiar, the Scottish Bat Conference was taking place in Perth. In this episode...
Devon Greater Horseshoe Bat Project with Helen Parr
09 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
S2E17 The weather has certainly got chilly in the last few days, but back in late October, it was still mild and Steve visited a bat colony which was ...
Dr Winifred Frick - Bat Conservation International
25 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
S2E16 Winifred is the Chief Scientist at Bat Conservation International as well as an associate research professor in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology...
Gardening for bats with Joel Ashton
11 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
S2E13 Remember seeing bats over your garden years ago and suddenly realised that they've vanished over time? Wildlife garden landscaper Joel Asht...
Chris Packham
28 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
S2E14 A camping trip in the New Forest was the first sighting of bats that broadcaster, naturalist and writer Chris Packham had. He became the preside...
Bats & Coronavirus
07 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
S1E13 In this bonus episode recorded during the UK lockdown, we have two guests on the show. Tom August is a scientist based at the UK Centre for Ecol...
Bat Care
01 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
S1E12 This week we have two guests on the show. Hannah Van Hesteren is one of the Helpline Managers at the Bat Conservation Trust. She talks to Steve ...
Bats and Trees with Jim Mullholland
18 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
S1E11 Despite a number of our bats using trees as roost sites, we know surprisingly little about how bats use trees. In this episode Steve sits down w...
Life as an Island Bat Group
04 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
S1E10 The British Isles have a large number of islands around its coasts and some of these have bat groups. In this episode Steve discusses the challe...
A Churnet Chiroptera Conundrum
19 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
S1E9 Steve heads to the Churnet valley in north Staffordshire to join Staffordshire Bat Group members Helen Ball and David Nixon for the day. Helen ex...
James Shipman
05 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
S1E8 James has been involved in bat conservation since 2010 and has been involved in a variety of projects in that time including setting up Gib-Bats ...
Natural History Museum - Roberto Portela Miguez
22 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
S1E7 This is the second installment of a two-part special recorded at the Natural History Museum, South Kensington, London.This time Steve Roe talks w...
Natural History Museum - Steph West
08 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
S1E6 This is the first of a two-part special recorded at the Natural History Museum, South Kensington, London.In this first half Steve Roe talks with ...
A Wonderful Weekend in Wales
18 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
S1E5 Episode five was recorded in May at the Wales Bat Worker’s weekend. The weekend brings together bat workers from across Wales and further afiel...
Nathusius' Enthusiasts
04 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
S1E4 In our fourth episode, Steve joins bat legend Daniel Hargreaves on an autumnal evening in Rye Harbour Nature Reserve on the coastal boundary of S...
Woodchester Mansion
20 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
S1E3 Episode 3 was recorded in the Gloucestershire countryside at Woodchester Mansion. The Grade I listed Victorian mansion near Stroud, which was ab...
Back from the Brink & The Big Bat Year
20 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
S1E2 We have two guests appearing on this episode:Back from the Brink is one of the most ambitious conservation projects ever undertaken. Its aim – ...
Shirley Thompson: The Past, Present & Future of Bat Conservation
20 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
S1E1 In our first episode, Shirley Thompson MBE describes how bat conservation in the UK started and some of the experiences she’s had along the way...
BatChat Trailer
20 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
BatChat is the Podcast from the Bat Conservation Trust. Designed for its members and the wider bat conservation community, it talks to the experts as ...