Bat ID

[James M]

Now this is a very long shot, I apologize, and it probably isn't possible to get an ID. On Monday while I was on a walk down the canal not far from Greenfield (Oldham) I saw a bat flying over the canal in broad daylight, in full sun. I've never seen a bat in the daytime before, I've heard that in winter on mild days they may come out to look for food when they can't hibernate properly, but considering the time of year, is it safe to assume that it had been disturbed?

It seemed bigger than the Pipistrelles I normally see around near my house and it had reddish brown (almost copperish but a little bit darker, although this could have been the sun) fur on the body and black wings, it didn't have noticeable large ears, so probably not one of the long eared bats. I didn't get a photo as I had no camera on me, but even if I had I doubt I would have got it as I'm a very poor amateur! It's a long shot but is there any clue to what species it is most likely to be? (i.e. does my location give a clue?). Any help would be appreciated even if it's impossible to ID.

[chrysalis_stage]

Originally Posted by James M

It seemed bigger than the Pipistrelles I normally see around near my house and it had reddish brown (almost copperish but a little bit darker, although this could have been the sun) fur on the body and black wings, it didn't have noticeable large ears, so probably not one of the long eared bats. I didn't get a photo as I had no camera on me, but even if I had I doubt I would have got it as I'm a very poor amateur! It's a long shot but is there any clue to what species it is most likely to be? (i.e. does my location give a clue?). Any help would be appreciated even if it's impossible to ID.

From your descriptions I would say it could be a Noctule (Nyctalus noctula). But they are considerably larger than pipistrelles.

You could also try looking on 'NBN gateway' (website) for any bat distribution data around the location you saw this.

[James M]

I would have said it was quite a bit larger than a pipistrelle, but has these things have a habit of playing tricks on your eyes I couldn't be 100% sure. Thanks C_S will have a look.