Recommended Reading

The Bat Workers’ Manual

Edited by AJ Mitchell-Jones and AP McLeish
Joint Nature Conservation Committee. ISBN-10: 1861075588 

The manual provides detailed information on all aspects of bats and is an essential reference for anyone wishing to obtain a licence to carry out bat work in the UK.

Download available here


Which Bat Is It? – A Guide to Bat Identification in Great Britain and Ireland

RE Stebbings, DW Yalden and JS Herman
Mammal Society. ISBN-13: 9780906282649

Excellent guide to bats, giving identification keys, advice on how to study bats and an important section on legislation.


Bat Surveys – Good Practice Guidelines

Bat Conservation Trust
ISBN-13: 9781872745992 

This book provides good practice guidance for those commissioning, undertaking or reviewing bat surveys throughout the UK. It is intended to bring about improvements in the standard and consistency of bat surveys and survey reports and ultimately lead to greater understanding about bats and improvements in their protection and conservation.

Download available here


A Guide to British Bats

Kate Jones and Allyson Walsh
Field Studies Council (FSC. ISBN-10: 1851538755

This guide includes all 16 species of bats that live and breed in Britain and has two parts: a guide to identifying bats in flight using bat detectors, flight patterns, size, habitat and emergence time after dusk; and a key labelling the different body parts of a bat for identifying bats in the hand.


Bat Mitigation Guidelines 

This document gives generic technical advice on assessing impacts and developing mitigation plans. These guidelines have been developed to assist those involved with land-use planning and development operations (in the widest sense) where bats are known or suspected to occur.

Download available here


Bats in Churches

This leaflet is to help those who look after church buildings that are used by bats to understand their legal obligations. It will be of help to architects, surveyors, local authority conservation officers, ecologists and Natural England and Historic England staff and volunteers.

Download available here