| Hibernation Survey 4th January 2025 9.30 am till sunset | Venue: Around South Lancashire – details will be sent to invited parties. |
| Wales Hibernation Survey 11 & 12th January 2025 9.30 am till sunset | Venue: Wales – details will be sent to invited parties. |
| Injured Bat Workshop 19th January 2025 9.30 am – 4.30 pm | Venue : Red Hall Hotel Bury. Manchester Road, Walmersley, Bury BL9 5NA Email for full details. Booking is essential Contact: Steve Parker at enquiry@slbg.org.uk or 0161 7648850. |
| Bat Group AGM Talk – Batman and Beyond; The real Superpowers of Bats’ 5th February 2025 7.15 pm for 7.30 pm start | Venue : Red Hall Hotel Bury. Manchester Road, Walmersley, Bury BL9 5NA Our annual AGM and more importantly, he’s back after his Amazing 2023 AGM Talk on the Sex Lives of Bats, to give a new talk and this will be the first time its been heard by anyone, Matthew Terry, Chair of the Worcestershire Bat Group, and BCT Trustee will be giving his talk on the wonderous abilities of bats ‘Batman and Beyond; The real Superpowers of Bats’ All welcome, book using the email, so we have enough refreshments! SD798127 Contact & Booking: Brian Robinson at enquiry@slbg.org.uk or 0161 7648850 |
| Hibernation Survey 8th February 2025 9.30 am till sunset | Venue: Around South Lancashire – details will be sent to invited parties. |
| Hibernation Survey 9th February 2025 10.30 am – 1.30 pm | Venue: Around South Lancashire – details will be sent to invited parties. |
| Wales Hibernation Survey 22nd & 23rd February 2025 9.30 am till sunset | Venue: Wales – details will be sent to invited parties. |
| Monthly Trustee Meeting 2nd April 2025 8.00 pm | Venue: Venue: Online – Zoom Meeting Trustees only Contact: Brian Robinson at enquiry@slbg.org.uk or 0161 7648850 |
| Greenmount Open Day 5th May 2025 12.30 to 4:30 pm | Venue : Nailors Field opposite Greenmount Village Old School, Brandlesholme Road, Greenmount Bury BL8 4DS. SD77781433 Visit our stall and buy some batty items. Contact Steve Parker at enquiry@slbg.org.uk or 0161 7648850 |
| Bat Walk 9th May, 2025 8.45 pm -10.15 pm ish | Venue : Parish Hall Car Park, Cliff Road, Wilmslow, SK9 4AA (SJ847816) Batty About Bats Join South Lancashire Bat Group and Bollin Valley Partnership Ranger Naomi on a majestic bat walk as the sun starts to fade and dusk draws in. This is the perfect opportunity to learn more about bats in their natural environment. You will learn the importance of bats and you may even get to see and hear them. Learn how to identify different species of bat using bat detectors. Booking and payment in advance is essential. Adults £5, children 16 or under go free. Please bring a torch. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/batty-about-bats-tickets-801460759707 Contact: Booking essential |
| Bat Talk & Walk Friday, 9th May 2025 at 8.30 to 10.15 pm | Meet at the allotment Sheds, next to Rollins Wood car park, 35 Compstall Road, Marple Bridge, Stockport, SK6 5HG All you need to bring is a torch and a bat detector if you have one (don’t worry if you don’t have a bat detector, one will be provided). Please wear weather appropriate outdoor clothing and footwear. Light refreshments will be provided at the end of the walk. Contact: Julie Gould. Email: juliegould17@gmail.com |
| Injured Bat Workshop 10th May 2025 9.30 am – 4.30 pm | Venue : Red Hall Hotel Bury. Manchester Road, Walmersley, Bury BL9 5NA Email for full details. Booking is essential Contact: Steve Parker at enquiry@slbg.org.uk or 0161 7648850. |
| Bat Detector Workshop tbc 5.00 pm – 11.00 pm ish | Venue: Tbc If you have a bat detector but don’t have loads of experience in using it, this course is for you. The workshop will equip you for all the groups’ surveys and the National Bat Monitoring Programme. Booking is essential – Steve Parker at enquiry@slbg.org.uk or 0161 7648850 |
| Prestwich Clough Open Day 18th May 2025 10.30 am – 5.30 pm | Venue : St Marys Flower Park, Prestwich Manchester SD814036 Visit or stall and buy some batty items. Contact: Steve Parker at enquiry@slbg.org.uk or 0161 7648850 |
| Monthly Trustee Meeting 4th June 2025 8.00 pm | Venue: Venue: Online – Zoom Meeting Trustees Only Contact: Brian Robinson at enquiry@slbg.org.uk or 0161 7648850. |
| Lesser Horseshoe NBMP Counts 5th June 2025 tbc 8pm till late | Venue: Various in North Wales – details will be emailed nearer the time. Booking essential – reply to the email |
| Brown Long-Eared & Soprano Pipistrelle NBMP Counts Tbc June 2025 9.00 pm | Venue: Tatton Park, details will be emailed nearer the time. Booking essential – reply to the email Contact: Steve Parker enquiry@slbg.org.uk or 0161 7648850 |
| Lesser Horseshoe NBMP Counts 19th June 2025 8pm – late | Venue: Various in North Wales – details will be emailed nearer the time. Booking essential – reply to the email |
| Brown Long-Eared & Soprano Pipistrelle NBMP Counts Tbc June 2025 9.00 pm | Venue: Tatton Park, details will be emailed nearer the time. Booking essential – reply to the email Contact: Steve Parker enquiry@slbg.org.uk or 0161 7648850 |
| Lesser Horseshoe NBMP Counts – Back-up date 26th June 2025 8pm – late | Venue: Various in North Wales – details will be emailed nearer the time. Booking essential – reply to the email |
| Rochdale Science Extravaganza 2025 29th June 2025 11.00 am – 5.00 pm | Venue : Rochdale Town Hall, The Esplanade, Rochdale OL16 1AZ A first time at this great event with lots of batty activities as well ats lots of other stalls all focussing on Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Maths. See https://www.rochdalescience.co.uk/events/ for more! Contact: Steve Parker at enquiry@slbg.org.uk or 0161 7648850 |
| Field Survey – NBMP tbc July 2025 9.30 pm | Venue: Tatton Park, details will be emailed nearer the time. Booking essential – reply to the email Contact: Steve Parker enquiry@slbg.org.uk or 0161 7648850 |
| Field Survey – NBMP Tbc July 2025 9.10 pm | Venue: Tatton Park, details will be emailed nearer the time. Booking essential – reply to the email Contact: Steve Parker enquiry@slbg.org.uk or 0161 7648850 |
| Millpond Surveys start, every night for about a week! 1st August 2025 8.00 pm | Venue: Meet in the car park of Safestore Bury, Crostons Rd, Bury BL8 1AF SD796112 For the start of the 2024 survey Contact: Steve Parker, Clare Sefton, Paul Robinson enquiry@slbg.org.uk or 0161 7648850 |
| Waterway Survey – NBMP tbc 9.15 pm | Venue: Ramsbottom, Bury, details will be emailed nearer the time. Booking essential – reply to the email Contact: Steve Parker enquiry@slbg.org.uk or 0161 7648850 |
| Waterway Survey – NBMP Tbc – 9.00 pm | Venue: Ramsbottom, Bury, details will be emailed nearer the time. Booking essential – reply to the email Contact: Steve Parker enquiry@slbg.org.uk or 0161 7648850 |
| Monthly Trustee Meeting 3rd September 2025 8.00 pm | Venue: Venue: Online – Zoom Meeting Trustees Only Contact: Brian Robinson at enquiry@slbg.org.uk or 0161 7648850 |
| National BCT Bat Conference 5th -7th September, 2025. | Venue: Hybrid event at (University of Durham) or online at Your House, virtually. Your choice. But its better in person. The National BCT Bat Conference returns. Loads of talks/presentations, posters and workshops, with a Bat Walk on the www.bats.org.uk for further details |
| Monthly Trustee Meeting 1st October 2025 8.00 pm | Venue: Venue: Online – Zoom Meeting Trustees Only Contact: Brian Robinson at enquiry@slbg.org.uk or 0161 7648850 |
| Bat Box Check, Tatton Park 29th September 2025 12.00 pm | Venue: Tatton Park. Meeting place tbc Bat box checks at the wonderful Tatton Park Booking Essential Contact: Steve Parker at enquiry@slbg.org.uk or 0161 7648850 |
| Cheese Night, Tatton Park 29th September, 2025 6.00 pm | Venue: Tatton Park. Meeting place tbc The annual event to mark the end of survey season. Booking Essential. Contact: Steve Parker at enquiry@slbg.org.uk or 0161 7648850 |
| Bat Box Check, Haigh Country Park / Duxbury Woods 19th October 2025 9.30 am | Venue: Haigh CP Hall Lane Wigan Yarrow Bridge Pub Bolton Rd (A6) Meet at Haigh at 9.30 am, after checking these boxes we’ll move onto Duxbury, finishing with a drink in the pub to warm us up! Booking Essential Contact: Steve Parker at enquiry@slbg.org.uk or 0161 7648850 |
| Monthly Trustee Meeting 3rd December 2025 8.00 pm | Venue: Venue: Online – Zoom Meeting Trustees Only Contact: Brian Robinson at enquiry@slbg.org.uk or 0161 7648850 |
| Christmas Do Saturday Tbc 7.15 pm till late | Venue: Details sent to bat group members – Restaurant in central Manchester |
| Hibernation Survey TBC – January 2026 9.30 am till sunset | Venue: Around South Lancashire – details will be sent to invited parties. |
| Wales Hibernation Survey 17th – 18th January 2026 9.30 am till sunset | Venue: Wales – details will be sent to invited parties. |
| Bat Group AGM & Bat Talk Tuesday 3rd February 2026 7.30 pm | Venue: TBC. Contact: Brian Robinson at enquiry@slbg.org.uk or 0161 7648850 |
| Hibernation Survey TBC – February 2025 9.30 am till sunset | Venue: Around South Lancashire – details will be sent to invited parties. |
| Wales Hibernation Survey 28th February – 1st March 2026 9.30 am till sunset | Venue: Wales – details will be sent to invited parties. |
South Lancashire Bat Group is covered under a Public Liability Insurance policy, but no Personal Liability is covered. Anyone taking part in bat group events, including bat box checks, bat walks and hibernation site checks, does so at their own risk, and must be member of the group. South Lancashire Bat Group recommends the wearing of gloves and an up to date rabies vaccination when regularly handling bats (speak to a Trustee for more guidance on when this is needed), which should be carried out in accordance with the current guidance from the Bat Conservation Trust.
Throughout the winter, various Hibernation surveys will be arranged, however these are by invite only.
Training workshops are available to members of the South Lancashire Bat Group as they are intended for group members to expand their knowledge and provide better understanding of bats and increase skills to benefit bat conservation through the work of the group. The workshops are not suitable for those specifically seeking licence training for consultancy, but will be useful for all.
Anyone wanting to attend any SLBG event in order to obtain experience and then subsequent signing of any log-book, must notify the event leader only, prior to the event(s), as SLBG has a policy in place for this.
Trapping surveys will be arranged for the group, by email to all members. At the time of writing these surveys include the National Nathusius Pipistrelle Project and the Small Myotis Project. Places can be requested but may be limited due to the nature of the survey type. Where place cancellations cannot be filled, this may lead to reduced invites to future surveys.
For SLBG members who want to book events, please note we now have a policy for this in line with our insurance and safeguarding arrangements. The policy can be seen in both the Members page, and Governance pages of the website.