Baker Consultants Ltd

As well as testing the SM2 in the field, Baker Consultants has this week returned from a lab testing session with Dr Fiona Mathews, lecturer in mammalian biology at Exeter University.

To bench mark the detectors we tested them using an ultra sound generator, broadcasting a range of pre-recorded calls, fixed frequency calibration tests at a number of different volumes, frequency sweeps at increasing distances and angles from the detectors.

Four Anabats, three SM2s and two Duets were used for the experiments.

We will be publishing the full results after the UK national bat conference in September and further testing is to be undertaken during the winter months to validate these original tests.

Fiona is at the international bat conference in Prague this week, Paul will be presenting at the BCT conference at Loughborough in September with our full test results (although last time we checked the organisers were trying to find us a bigger room!).

If you're a friend of Baker Consultants, you should by now have been invited to our open day on Thursday 16th September (4-8pm). The timing is designed to fit in with the Derby trains (connecting to London and the rest of the country), so let the train take the strain and have a trip out!

It will be an informal affair, largely consisting of a snoop around our patch, afternoon tea, a sneak preview of the new bat detector we're field testing from Paul, and a bat walk along Cromford Canal with Kelly.

Oh yes, and our man we call the Big Cheese (boss - Andrew/Fred Baker) will give you a quick update on the business, the highs and lows of the ecology world and expected developments for 2011.

If you'd like to come along but haven't yet let us know please email: s.johnston@bakerconsultants.co.uk or give us a call on 0114 360 2969.

Paul writes: Well, the kit works, is field ready in our opinion, there is just more to do on the comparative side to make sure the species recording is reliable. I've just realised we never told you what it was, no reason, except we were not sure of it's full capabilities.

It's the Song Meter 2 (SM2) from Wildlife Acoustics, it seems that the obvious competitor is the Anabat, and we're over joyed to have something new to test out.

The SM2 we are currently using only samples to 92 kHz however, we tried it at a lesser horseshoe site and it clearly recorded the 55kHz harmonic and six times more calls than the Anabat.

Good job I've got something to be excited about, the rest of the team (well almost all of them) are off to learn about grasses, rushes and sedges for a week next month… just me and my bat detectors for company... bliss!

Is it possible that there could be a user friendly, waterproof, effective and affordable remote monitoring device? We're hoping so.

We're currently field testing a new product alongside the better known Anabat to determine if there is something on the market that will better meet the needs of the English weather and provide us with reliable data on bats.

We'll be looking at the quality of the data, how it is stored, how user friendly is the analysis software, and whether its pedigree in the ornithological world will translate into being a piece of quality kit in the bat world.

Watch this space for our findings, or book your place on our workshop at the National Bat Conference in September to hear the full story.