Grey long-eared bats

This project started as a commission for the innovative Back from the Brink project on behalf of the charity Wildscreen. The images were commended in the MontPhoto contest in 2021.

​The photographic work here followed Neil's filming and production of a short film about the grey long-eared bat for Back from the Brink in 2019.

To avoid any disturbance or impact, these bats were filmed and photographed ethically and sensitively using a combination of infrared cameras and red light filters under the guidance of The Bat Conservation Trust.

​The future of the grey long-eared bat (Plecotus austriacus) in Britain is tied to the choices we make about how we grow our food, how we build our houses and how we move around our landscape. Intensive farming practices have poisoned bat prey with pesticides and have decimated foraging habitat. The conversion of traditional barns into country homes has meant the loss of important roosting sites while the 6.5 million streetlights lining Britain’s roads have created barriers of light stopping bats from accessing new roosts and feeding grounds. All of these factors have made the grey long-eared bat Britain’s rarest bat and led it to become classified as Near Threatened throughout its range.