When it comes to bat conservation, innovation matters. WEST teamed up with a US-based drone developer, Persimia, to develop a drone-based bat survey tool, the BatCopter. With input from WEST experts regarding required drone specs and acoustic needs, Persimia’s talented drone engineers designed a drone specifically engineered to collect thermal and acoustic data, helping us better understand bat activity and inform conservation strategies
This unique tool can be used to observe bat activity/use or to estimate bat occupancy and relative abundance at onshore and offshore projects. The field and statistical methods we developed support a wide variety of applications including basic research, bat population monitoring and management, documenting bat activity/use, tracking long-term trends at renewable energy projects, and assessing bat conservation and management goals at mitigation sites.
To date, WEST has conducted drone-based bat surveys at 18 wind projects and three mitigation sites. #BatWeek
