The UK is home to 18 species of bat. The only mammals that can fly, they also sleep upside down, navigate by echolocation and find food and shelter in woods and trees.
Trees woods and wildlife
Distinctive, rare, elusive. The barbastelle bat lives in deciduous woodland and looks unlike any other bat. If you’re lucky, you might spot it hunting in wet woodland.
Trees woods and wildlife
This elusive tree lover hunts, mates, and lives in woodland, relying on old trees for roosting sites. Loss of habitat means this once common species is now one of our rarer bats.
Trees woods and wildlife
Small and shaggy, this pink-faced bat is often found in wet woodland. Keep your eyes peeled for them at dusk when they come out to hunt.
Trees woods and wildlife
Known as the 'whispering' bat for its almost silent echolocation noises, this little bat's huge ears make it an expert woodland insect hunter.
Trees woods and wildlife
Flying mammals that live among us. Common pipistrelles spend the day sleeping in buildings, but rely on trees when they emerge at night.
Trees woods and wildlife
A flying mammal with an aquatic edge. These bats are drawn to water, snatching insects from the surface of rivers and lakes.
Trees woods and wildlife
Rare and highly agile. Look out for the greater horseshoe bat along woodland edges at dawn and dusk. The longest-lived bat in the UK, it has become scarce due to a loss of insect prey and habitat.
Trees woods and wildlife
Tree-dwellers with a lion-like appearance, these fast-flying bats are scarce throughout Britain but common in Ireland.
Trees woods and wildlife
Plum-sized and pink-faced, the lesser horseshoe bat is one of the smallest bats in the UK. Look out for them at dusk in woodland, but not in winter when they hibernate underground in caves and tunnels.
Trees woods and wildlife
Foliage foragers and cave-dwelling contortionists, these ‘red-armed bats’ are expert hunters and can squeeze themselves into the tightest of spaces.
Trees woods and wildlife
Often seen flying high above the tree-tops, the noctule bat is the largest bat in the UK. This species relies on tree holes to roost in and is often confused for a swift when on the wing.
Trees woods and wildlife
One of the largest British bats, the serotine has a taste for beetles and other flying insects. Listen for the squeaking sound it makes just before emerging at dusk to hunt.
Trees woods and wildlife
The soprano pipistrelle bat is a widespread species that hunts close to water and can be found in woods and gardens.
The UK is home to 18 species of bats, all of which are protected by law. This protection extends to their breeding and resting places. Hedgerows, tree lines and watercourses are important to the roosting, foraging and navigation needs of bats.
Find out more about how bats use trees
Trees woods and wildlife
Explore more about these cold-blooded creatures that live along woodland edges, glades, ditches and ponds.
Journal
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Trees woods and wildlife
Find out more about our declining woodland bird populations, and how protecting woodland habitats is more important than ever.
