bat watchers

[nightshade]

Are there any bat watchers out there? birds seem to be top of the popularity poll
dont get excited i am merely curious

[Diane]

I'm going on a bat watch next Friday. Organised by someone at the place I work - thought I'd tag along.

[nightshade]

hi diane,thanks for replying just tagging along was how i started,i cannot leave them alone now, the more i find out the more i want to know
just hearing them is startling and when i was told that the largest weighs about the same as a £1 coin,the smallest a 2p piece it was difficult to take in but a look into their intelligent eyes and i was hooked,good luck on friday.

[BartonFlyer]

I find bats amazing, but haven't been on any organised bat watches - we get a few in our garden & I built a bat detector (kit from Magenta Electronics) which works well - fascinating to watch & listen as they forage for insects.

[Helen]

I can't quite make my mind up about bats. They are fantastic creatures, and I have them flhying around the house, but I never get chance to "see" them, so to speak.

[Fourwings]

Fascinating creatures, I once lived in a house that had a large roost of Brown Long-Eared bats in the attic roof.
It was brilliant watching them all emerge out to hunt at dusk.

I've often contemplated buying a bat detector, but which model?

[BartonFlyer]

Originally Posted by Helen

I can't quite make my mind up about bats. They are fantastic creatures, and I have them flhying around the house, but I never get chance to "see" them, so to speak.

Get a bat detector & you may not "see" them but certainly "hear" them!!

[BartonFlyer]

Originally Posted by Fourwings

Fascinating creatures, I once lived in a house that had a large roost of Brown Long-Eared bats in the attic roof.
It was brilliant watching them all emerge out to hunt at dusk.

I've often contemplated buying a bat detector, but which model?

There are lots of resources on the net that give you all the detail (and more!) than you could ever want -
Here is a good start

I built mine as a kit from Magenta Electronics but you can get them ready built if you're not into using a soldering iron! This seemed the cheapest option to test the water.
Cheers Ian

[Fourwings]

Cheers Ian, I'll have a look.

[nightshade]

Originally Posted by Fourwings

Fascinating creatures, I once lived in a house that had a large roost of Brown Long-Eared bats in the attic roof.
It was brilliant watching them all emerge out to hunt at dusk.

I've often contemplated buying a bat detector, but which model?

Hi, the magenta is a good detector, the STAG electronics bat-box seems to be the most popular with clubs, my personal favourite is a pettersson, there is an american detector, Belfry, a frequency division detector (not quite as sensitive as our native heterodyne detectors)
I have said before sometimes a local bat group may lend out detectors (you supply your own battery) contact them they are usually very nice people and you may even get a guide thown in to make sure you hear bats
If I can give any help or advice please do contact me