Leisler's bat (Nyctalus leisleri)
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Vertebrate > terrestrial mammal > Bat |
| Red List Status: | Near Threatened (Not Relevant) [NT(nr)] |
| D5 Status: | Included in the baseline Red List Index for England (Wilkins, Wilson & Brown, 2022) |
| Section 41 Status: | (not listed) |
| Taxa Included Synonym: | Leisler's bat |
| UKSI Recommended Name: | Nyctalus leisleri |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | (Kuhl, 1817) |
| UKSI Recommended Qualifier: | (none specified) |
| Red List Citation: | Mathews & Harrower, 2020 |
| Notes on taxonomy/listing: | (none) |
Criteria
| Question 1: | Does species need conservation or recovery in England? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | GB and England status is near threatened. It is uncommon but widespread in England. National Bat Monitoring Programme (NBMP) trends are not possible for this species due to the lack of data. There appears to be a variance in both roosting and foraging behaviour in England compared with what is found in mainland Europe and in Ireland (where it is more common). The scarcity of this species in England might be attributable to a limiting resource for roosting or foraging. Until that need is understood and addressed, the trend for this near threatened species remains unknown and its needs unaddressed. |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | To address evidence gaps. The causes of its scarcity need to be understood. Historic population declines and their causes and also genetic links to other parts of its range would assist in understanding the factors that could see an improvement in its status. As practical measures in England for now there is the requirement to consider its needs within woodland and also to address impacts on other likely sources of prey such as dung fauna and the impacts of endectocides. |
| Question 3: | At a landscape scale, would the species benefit from untargeted habitat management to increase habitat mosaics, structural diversity, or particular successional stages? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | It is likely that landscape scale considerations will help this species. The species typically forages in habitats associated with deciduous and coniferous woodlands, as well as open areas, rivers, lakes and grazed pasture. Wet/marshy grassland is a critical foraging habitat. Any management that increases habitat quality and insect abundance and diversity will be beneficial in providing increased availability of quality foraging habitat. |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 3. National Monitoring Plan agreed and implemented |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Medium-high |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Opportunistic - insufficient |
| Species Comments: | Ongoing legal protection of roosts is vital to prevent extinction. It is linked to woodland in Europe but in England may make greater use of other habitats such as grazed pasture as it does in Ireland. In Ireland the species roosts predominantly in built structures whereas in England most known roosts are in trees. The NBMP is unable to give an indication of trends due to a lack of data. It's needs in England for roosting and foraging are not clear when reviewed alongside the variations seen in mainland Europe and Ireland. BCT is developing the British Bat Survey (BBatS) to fill the monitoring gap. |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Research or a projectised piece of work is needed to understand the roosting and foraging needs of this species in England. There are variances with mainland Europe and Ireland that need to be better understood so we can understand the limiting factors in its recovery in England
Action targets: 4. Autecology and pressures understood
Action type: Scientific research
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: National
High priority sites:
Comments: National in this context is within this species limited range.
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Increased monitoring for this species. We do not have NBMP data for this species in England (only Northern Ireland). We are developing British Bat Survey (BBatS) to fill this monitoring gap. A focussed action of increasing monitoring for this species is vitally needed so we can understand changes in its status in England and GB.
Action targets: 3. National Monitoring Plan agreed and implemented
Action type: Targeted monitoring
Duration: 2 years
Scale of Implementation: Not applicable
High priority sites:
Comments: National means within its limited range in England
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: The impact on this species of onshore wind turbines is unclear. Data from ongoing monitoring following mitigation measures needs to be assessed to ascertain whether it is being successful in stopping mortalities.
Action targets: 4. Autecology and pressures understood
Action type: Pressure mitigation
Duration: 2 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 20 sites
High priority sites:
Comments: This action can be grouped in with noctule, soprano pipistrelle, Nathusius' pipistrelle and serotine. It will take the joint funds to carry out this work.
Acknowledgment:
Data used on this website are adapted from Threatened species recovery actions 2025 baseline (JP065): Technical report and spreadsheet user guide (Natural England, 2025). Available here.