Recorders left in 310 woodlands caught 98 million bat calls
Scientists say Britain's largest woodland bat survey would have taken more than 30 years to listen through without AI. Rare barbastelles showed up in the south-west.
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Britain's largest woodland bat survey logged 98 million calls, and the scientists who ran it say they could not have listened through that pile without computers. The BBC reported on October 30, 2026, that devices on poles in 310 woodlands recorded the calls over three years. Working through them by hand would have taken more than 30 years.
Kate Jones, of University College London, said the open-source tools changed the scale of wildlife monitoring and called the project a nice story of that technology used well. The red-listed barbastelle, one of Britain's rarest bats, showed up in the south-west, including Somerset, Devon, Cornwall, and Dorset. Lia Gilmour of the Bat Conservation Trust, which ran the work with Forest Research, called the survey unprecedented and said Somerset had strong activity.
The calls are a map of where bats were heard. They are not a promise that every wood is safe for them.
For the classroom
Bats hunt with sounds people usually cannot hear. The BBC reported on October 30, 2026, that researchers left listening devices in 310 woodlands and recorded 98 million bat calls over three years. Listening to every call by ear would have taken more than 30 years, so computers sorted them. Kate Jones, at University College London, called that a good use of the tools. A rare bat, the barbastelle, was heard in south-west England, including Somerset, Devon, Cornwall, and Dorset. The numbers show where bats were heard. They do not say every wood is full of bats.
- Why couldn't a person listen to all 98 million calls one by one?
- What is one reason a woodland is a good place for bats?
- Where in England did the rare barbastelle show up?
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