Daytime bats?

[jennyb]

At about 4.30 this afternoon I was standing by my pond when what I thought was a little bird swooped down and had drink out of the pond. It did this a couple of times. I then realised that it was not a bird but a brown bat.

Now admittedly I did not have my glasses on at the time (and the wrong lens on the camera ), but I am sure it was a bat rather than a bird.

Two questions - could it have been a bat on a bright sunny afternoon, and if so, what kind is it likely to have been? It was a smaller than a robin.

Jenny

[PMG]

Yes - absolutely - bats do come out and fly/feed in the daylight when neccessary - sometimes in the middle of the day and in warm sunshine. Its usually pipistrelles that most often do this and I don't think anyone is truly sure as to why. I've seen pips in broad daylight feeding on sev occassions and doing it by eyesight rather than echo location! It is poss that yours could have been a Daubenton's due to it coming to your pond - tho I pressume that pips must have to drink too. . .

One that sticks in my mind was a hot day last year at Roudsea NNR in South Cumbria when I was chasing Silver Washed Fritiliarys and heard the bats chittering in the building roof space. I went and stood at the end of the building and craned my neck for 20 mins. During this time the noise increased and sev times a little furry face and ears looked out, then suddenly they were streaming out of the roofspace and into nearby big trees. I told the warden next time I saw him and he says it happens there cos the roofspace gets too hot in good weather and if the bats are in the roof roost when this happens they are then forced into leaving or frying!

Pauline

[nightshade]

Most bats will come out for a drink it is so necessary for life!
Sizewise there are two or three bats it could have been ,a little
detective work and the help of your local bat group will tell you what is local

[glsammy]

I saw a Daubentons feeding over the river Trent at 1.30pm last year: I managed a few shots of it:

[demicav]

Originally Posted by glsammy

I saw a Daubentons feeding over the river Trent at 1.30pm last year: I managed a few shots of it:

Nice shots, I love bats.

[jennyb]

Thanks for your replies. If they make a habit of coming out in the daytime, then it would be much easier to try to photograph them then rather than in the dark! I don't suppose that I could manage anything quite as good as yours, Graham. What great photos. However, you have now ruled out Daubentons - mine did not look like that.

Jenny

[Mr Mag00]

I have seen bats flying high with swallows early in the evening i think, if i remember it was along time ago, they were natterers.

[thunder]

Originally Posted by Mr Mag00

I have seen bats flying high with swallows early in the evening i think, if i remember it was along time ago, they were natterers.

Might have been Natterer's, but rather more likely to have been Noctules, which are notorious for flying with Swallows.

henrya

[PMG]

Agree with the Noctules Henrya - our bat walks at work throughout July and August usually kick off with Noctules flying with Swifts over the big back field just on sunset! I still think yours would have been a pip Jenny esp with the description smaller than a robin!

Pauline

PS Those are fantastic shots with that reflection too Graham - I must admit to loving bats also. We went to a Lesser Horseshoe roost in North Wales last year for the first time and I was enthralled by the warbling calls on our batbox detector - it was a fantastic evening and well worth the drive!

[jennyb]

I know we have pips around here, Pauline, so you are probably correct. However, I have never seen a bat flying in day time so I would not recognise one if I tripped over it. And, I don't carry my bat detector around with me during the day!

I have not found many pictures of bats flying on the Internet to compare, but the one I saw had quite narrow wings.

Jenny