Natural England is reviewing the SSSI designations at Bernwood, Buckinghamshire, home to one of the largest and most northerly colonies of Bechstein’s Bat in the UK.
The Bechstein’s Bat population at Bernwood was first recorded in 2010. Detailed monitoring has taken place over several years since then, to learn more about this population. The resulting annual monitoring reports contain detailed information on the monitoring undertaken, and the observations of individual bat behaviour, alongside similar information on other Bat species found in the survey area.
Natural England commissioned a contractor to summarise these multiple annual monitoring reports into a single Non-Technical Summary Report, that would describe, to a non-technical reader, the evidence base on how the Bechstein’s Bat population at Bernwood uses the local landscape. Information is provided on the estimate of population size, roosting, commuting routes, foraging behaviour, Home range and Core Sustenance Zones.
The report also sets the Bernwood population of Bechstein’s Bats into the context of the size and distribution of the national population of the species and its conservation status.
The report also considers changes in the landscape, past, present and future and their known or potential impact on the Bechstein’s Bat population.
The report finds that the Bernwood population of Bechstein’s Bats numbers approximately 300 bats, or 1.4% of the UK population. The population is geographically and genetically isolated from the rest of the UK population, making it vulnerable to future changes to its habitat.