Bat-tastic..!

After a spook-free Hallowe’en it’s on to the practicalities of checking which of the 11 species of bat recorded on Brownsea are using the 50 – hopefully soon to be 75 - bat boxes on the reserve. 

I tag along with Steve, Amanda, Fay and Anthony, all from Dorset Wildlife Trust, who are recording numbers.  Each box has a unique number so a comprehensive record can be kept. 

Mild disappointment ensues as Amanda finds nothing in box 823.

I should clarify now that not everyone can do this.  You need a special licence to touch, or handle, any of the 17 species of UK bat.  Amanda has one and Steve too.  This is not one to try at home.

Steve has more luck with box 564.  Inside are six natterers (the ones you can’t see here are further up in the box, honest!) – the first I have ever knowingly seen.   

Steve dons his gloves and brings one out to check all is well.  Weird-looking - certainly – but everything about it screams cute.

Apparently, one of the identifying features of the natterer bat is the shape of the ear – you can see in the pictures below that it has a defined curl or tilted angle.

 

 

 I nearly fall over when Amanda asks if I want to put up a box.  Aside from scaling the ladder – me and heights do not mix – there is a bitterly cold wind and I fear my ears and finger-tips could fall off. 

Twelve newly-erected boxes later and it’s on to check more existing ones.

In this one we find two soprano pipistrelles.

 

Although I’ve only seen eight bats today, this is a good sign that the work volunteers are undertaking to rid the Island of rhododendron is having some effect.  The plant grows so quickly and densely it prevents other species from taking hold which can affect the number of insects around, on which bats feed.  Rhododendron can also inhibit the flight of some bat species and so, by clearing it out and burning, volunteers help to make a better habitat for them.

Another super sunset ends another super day.  Bat-tastic.