Bats in Backyards, Wellington 2024
Mid Macquarie Landcare coordinated a range of activities around the 2024 Bats in Backyards monitoring program. Check out what we found!
What we did
In March 2024 Mid Macquarie Landcare partnered with the Bats in Backyards (BIB) program to help fill the gap in knowledge about what microbat species are active in the Wellington region.
10 AudioMoth bat detectors were installed to record for a period of 1 week. These record the echolocation signals of bats passing the detector as they forage during the night. The recordings are then viewed as a spectrogram image allowing the BIB team identify them to species level.
We aimed to capture a range of different habitats, from Mount Arthur Reserve, to the Bell and Macquarie Rivers, in urban backyards and out on agricultural land. Here's where we put them:
What we found
A total of 11 species of microbat were confirmed, with a further 4 species that were probably present 😯 🤯
Here's what microbat species were found in and around Wellington in 2024:
Quick facts:
- 4 species were found that are listed as Vulnerable (threatened species)
- Wellington is the only location where Chalinolobus dwyeri (Large-eared Pied Bat) has been recorded outside of Sydney through BIB and there have been lots of calls recorded for this species here since 2022.
- There were also large numbers of calls recorded for Vulnerable species Miniopterus orianae (Large Bent-winged Bat) and Saccolaimus flaviventris (Yellow-bellied Sheath-tailed Bat)
CLICK HERE to view the Species Profiles for these microbats.
What it means
There is so much that is unknown about microbats because they are so hard to study.
In total across Wellington the BIB program has recorded a massive 36940 bat calls, demonstrating that we are a hotspot for bat activity in the state as this is higher than any of the other regions of focus.
This citizen science project is helping the Bats in Backyards team learn more about:
- what microbats are around
- where they are are hanging out (lol - get it??)
- how they are being impacted by landscape changes and
- What the community know and feel about microbats and how to help them.
Here's a snapshot of how we've contributed to this project:
For information on Bat Day and BatNight Returns, the community education events that we coordinated in conjunction with this project, visit our News Story or Facebook Page for photos.