Level 2 Bat Capture & Handling Workshop (KY) September 1-5, 2026 (registration open soon)

• 5 nights of netting at stream, pond, cave, & forest settings September 1-5, 2026
• Hands-on net, & trap setup and teardown 
• 1H, 2H, 3H type nets & various configurations for unusual situations
• Eastern bat ID & handling, measuring, and data management
• Demonstrating combining acoustic monitoring with physical captures
• This workshop is a long term monitoring project; 12 species physically captured in 2025 (11 in 2024, 9 in 2023); up to ~13 are possible
• ~40 hours of contact time between lectures and field trips
• Level 2 class: participants should have some prior live animal handling experience 
• Pubic "Bat Day" experience September 5; bring the family!
• Already took a BCM/BatSS Acoustic class? Discount available for those continuing education

Our course combines classroom discussions, hands-on demonstrations, and night-time field work designed to provide a solid foundation or great refresher in species identification, bat handling, netting, trapping techniques, and night vision observation. 

Our workshop location is in the geologically world-class sinkhole plain of western Kentucky, which includes extraordinary Mammoth Cave National Park. At over 450 -miles- of surveyed passage, Mammoth Cave is without question the longest and most studied cave in the world. Our field work contributes to important ongoing long-term research and will acquaint us with a diversity of eastern bat species near caves and forest stream settings. This venue is especially valuable for instruction because of the diversity of local habitats providing roosts, foraging, watering, and hibernacula resources. 

At this time of year we will have opportunity to witness the spectacular fall swarming behavior of gray myotis outside of a restored hibernacula. Experience culminates with participation in Mammoth Cave's family-friendly annual public Bat Day public program event for an extra field opportunity to handle bats in the entrance of the longest cave in the world.

Dates: Tuesday September 1 thru Saturday September 5, 2026. Training begins promptly at 9 am on Day 1 and will end at the conclusion (midnight) of the night field trip on the last day. 

Scheduled Lecture and/or Demonstration Topics: Daytimes include in-person classroom lectures and live demonstrations. Note this workshop may not visit the interior of any caves; please consider arriving a day early or staying a day later to visit one of the numerous tour options inside Mammoth Cave National Park and adjacent attractions. For in-depth training on bat acoustic monitoring, you may also be interested in our SonoBat Acoustic Monitoring Workshop immediately following this event.

Capture Techniques: 1H Mist Nets, 2H Mist Nets, and 3H Mist Nets, Harp Traps and Other Methods
Morphological Identification of Eastern U.S. Bat Species
Micrositing, setting, demobilizing, maintaining, and WNS decon
Monitoring Bats Using Video, Night-Vision and Thermal Cameras

Bat Acoustic Hardware and Software: We offer another workshop in the same location specifically for bat acoustic monitoring. Students are welcome to bring or their own or borrow BCM bat detectors as desired, but no formal instruction is on the agenda. Participants will be given a full working trial of the SonoBatLIVE software to use.

USFWS Letters of Recommendation: Those seeking letters should be aware that FWS recommendation letters cover -all- aspects of bat survey fieldwork that only comes from field experience of hundreds of nights at various sites and project types beyond what can be accomplished in a few weeks. BCM is happy to provide letters of -completion- upon request, and we have methods to track who handled what animal. However, instructors cannot provide recommendations as this semi-guided summer capture survey is only one of a number of projects federal permittees are expected to be familiar with.

Meeting/Lecture Location: Cave City Conference Center, Cave City, KY. This is an IN PERSON training. This workshop is not presented at Mammoth Cave National Park, only certain field research visits are in the park. 

Airport(s): The most convenient airport is Nashville International Airport (BNA), which is about 2 hours by vehicle and in Central Time zone (same as Cave City). Louisville International Airport (SDF) and Blue Grass Airport in Lexington (LEX) are 2-3 hours away respectively but are in Eastern Time zone.

Lodging: Lodging is not included in the cost of this training. Relatively inexpensive hotels are located nearby in Cave City and RV or tent camping is available at Diamond Caverns or Mammoth Cave National Park.

Meals:  At least 3 lunches are provided during this workshop. A number of food options are nearby. Coffee  service will be available during daytimes.

Pre-course Preparation: Those wishing to handle bats should already have taken a BCM Cat Capture & Handling course, or be comfortable handling other live small mammals. Participants should be prepared to hike over uneven terrain, at night, carrying personal gear and up to 50-pounds of field gear. Students must bring personal field gear including headlamps, appropriate clothing, bat handling gloves, and footwear for working outdoors, and basic personal items. Insect repellent for chiggers, ticks, and mosquitos is strongly advised, and poison ivy is present. Some sites require working in knee-deep water, in thick mud; waders or other appropriate footwear is highly recommended. All survey equipment for capturing bats is provided.

Approximately 2-weeks prior to the start of class, students will receive a complete list of what to bring and how to prepare for class, but feel free to contact us at any time if you have specific questions about the class or how to prepare.

Prior bat-work experience is strongly recommended. Students wishing to handle bats should have some prior animal handling experience and must  have obtained the rabies pre-exposure vaccination. The vaccine is at least two doses over several weeks that must be started at least two-months prior to class. Those already vaccinated can provide acceptable titre results or proof of recent booster. Those not vaccinated for rabies will not be permitted to handle bats, but may still take the course and gain bat ID experience.

How to Register: Please register by ordering online on this page. NOTE: To register multiple people, please checkout each person individually so that we can obtain the proper contact information for each participant. Student discount does not apply to consulting agencies. Registration is not refundable after August 1, but is transferable. 

All participants are expected to have personal insurance coverage. All participants are expected to sign a liability waiver and photo release at the start of the workshop.

Scheduled in-person Instructors:

John Chenger learned how to survey bats while at the PA Game Commission for ~10 years. He then formed BCM in 1998 further evolving bat surveys, artificial bat roosts, capture gear, and training classes nationwide. 

Keith Christenson spent many years abroad studying bats and is a retired lead biologist from Sanders Environmental, a top bat capture consultant.

Todd Sinander is a Environmental Review Project Manager with BCM since 2010. Ask him anything about bat mist netting, radio telemetry, or acoustic monitoring.

Lori Chenger attempts to keep everyone on some kind of schedule, has real-world acoustic survey experience in at least 6 states. 

Andrea Rygel is a BCM biologist specializing in bat acoustics, mist netting, and radio telemetry projects across the Eastern US. 

Amanda Miller participates in mist net, harp trap, bridge, and culvert surveys throughout the SE US while being a USFWS permitted bat biologist. 

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.