After surprising everyone and winning Forest and Birds – Bird of the Year 2021, what does our local Long-tailed Bat population look like?

Over the Christmas Break, Auckland Council contracted an island wide ultrasonic Long-tailed Bat survey, funded by the Aotea Great Barrier Local Board. Setting up 42 stations throughout the island, the results showed the northern catchment areas had 64 times the population than in the south. Even utilising the road between Port Fitzroy and Okiwi to commute between catchments. The islands Dark Sky Sanctuary status has shown to be beneficial to the population, as bats are adversely affected by road lighting.

It is reassuring to know that we had great results and there maintains to be a population on island worth protecting.