Bat Acoustic Workflow & Eastern Call ID Workshop - Carlisle, PA & Online March 3-5, 2026
Bat Acoustic Workflow & Eastern Call ID Workshop - Carlisle, PA & Online March 3-5, 2026
$1,450.00
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Step 1: there is a fee to attend this meeting. Please checkout each person separately to secure your seat. Payment is required to guarantee your seat.
Step 2: Each attendee -must- complete the pre-event survey. This will help plan and steer special segments of the class.
CLICK HERE to complete the pre-event survey.
Each attendee should complete the pre-meeting survey. This will help plan special segments of the class. Select the Sonobat & PA options to find the relevant form. Special dietary needs should be listed here, but consider bringing your own snacks as we cannot accommodate all requests.
Event dates: March 3-5 (Tues-Thurs), 2026
Early Bird pricing is in effect; register now to hold your seat. Students & self-funded BCM/BatSS Alum may qualify for discounted rates, contact us to apply.
This class jumpstarts users towards responsibly interpreting acoustic bat detector studies required by agencies, clients, and professional researchers. The focus is on post processing bat acoustic data and Eastern US species ID, featuring the SonoBat software program. Participants receive guided practice on how to manually confirm or reject "auto-classification" decisions from the most accurate bat analysis program in North America.
This hybrid class provides very intensive in-person classroom-based training, as well as an option to follow most activities remotely. Consider being "in-person" for more contact 1-on-1 time with instructors. A real example dataset allows everyone to appreciate the types of issues that may arise during typical acoustic survey efforts in the region, avoiding common pitfalls others have suffered, and maximizing survey efficiency. Participants will keep 85+ archetypal recordings discussed in depth for use as references, example post-processed project data, and supporting references. Class size, including remote participants, is limited for best experience.
Workshop Highlights
• In-person with 3 days/~25 hours of contact time with up to 5 instructors of combined 80+ years experience, 2 lunches, 1 dinner, and breakfast snacks.
• File Organization & Post-processing Acoustic Files for Analysis
• Generating AutoID Outputs from SonoBat and KaleidoscopePro (optional), Analyzing Results, Interpreting MLE Values & Determining Occupancy
• Echolocation Call Characteristics of Eastern Bat Species
• Viewing Full-spectrum Files in SonoBat; Using Qualitative Analysis during Manual Vetting Efforts
• Tips for Success & Improving Recording Quality
• Visualizing Mobile Transects
Pre-course Preparation: There is no pre-requisite for this training. Participants will receive a trial copy of SonoBat30 to use throughout the course. Significant sized downloads are necessary to obtain an example project to post process, ID exercise files, and resources. Remote learners are strongly suggested to use dual computers (one for the class, another for SonoBat) and dual monitors for SonoBat.
Bat Acoustic Hardware: In-person participants are welcome to bring their own bat detectors if desired, to set overnight in a secure location. Instructors will help refine settings, and troubleshoot for successful field use. Note: the time of this event is before much bat activity is occurring, so little if any recordings are expected.
Physical location: In-person participants should plan to overnight at any of a number of hotels in Carlisle, PA. The meeting location is ~2 miles from the junction of I81/US Route 15/I76 (the PA Turnpike). Numerous restaurants are nearby.
Time and Dates: Tuesday afternoon: doors open at 11 AM; class from 12PM-8PM. Wednesday: 10AM-5:30PM, optional field trip/geek session until midnight. Thursday: 10 AM-5:00PM. All times are Eastern.
Meals: In-person meals include Tuesday night campfire snacks, salad & pizza; Wednesday breakfast snacks, full lunch and dinner at a local pub; Thursday breakfast snacks, full lunch, and BBQ smoked wings, portabella mushrooms, salad, cornbread, mac&cheese dinner. All meals subject to change, gluten free/vegetarian options upon request.
Scheduled in-person or virtual Instructors:
John Chenger formed BCM in 1998 to provide bat acoustic, capture, telemetry, habitat, and emergence surveys nationwide, successful artificial bat roosts, and field gear.
Lori Chenger is our "Girl Friday" who attempts to keep everyone above on some kind of schedule, and who has real-world acoustic survey experience in at least 6 states.
Andrea Rygel is a Wildlife Biologist with BCM conducting acoustic surveys across the Eastern US.
Todd Sinander is a Wildlife Biologist and Project Manager with BCM since 2010.
Joe Szewczak is a Professor of Biological Sciences at Cal Poly Humboldt in Arcata, CA, and the developer of SonoBat software to analyze and interpret bat echolocation calls.
What past participants are saying . . .
"Ask questions, John, Joe and Dave have an astounding amount of knowledge, use them! They are the best tools of the course."
"Learning how to use SonoBat was the best part for me. I've used KaleidoscopePro but I see now how much more powerful SonoBat is at keying in on important features of each call."
"Bat or Not a Bat was an excellent start to these presentations. Learning how to differentiate between various noises recorded on detectors was extremely insightful."
"The informal discussions that took place off camera between John, Joe and Dave were equally as informative and show a glimpse at all the nuances that go into manually vetting calls."
"I thought everything ran smoothly and really appreciated the smaller class size."
"This was more than I could have hoped for in the 3 day class and would recommend this class to anyone getting ready for bat acoustic surveys or even as a refresher to those with more experience."
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