Bat identification help?

[coatesg]

Hi everyone,

It seems that I'm fortunate to have a new bat resident in my loft - there's only one, and he/she appears to be roosting quite happily on the top beam (though, we live in a fairly modern house, and I have absolutely no idea on how it got in or will get out!).

We get a lot of them flying around in the summer evenings (I live in Oxfordshire, not too far from many large lakes (ex-quarries) and two rivers - and we have a lot of insect popular plants in our garden), and I have seen a couple of droppings under a bat box I put up two years back, but this is the first time we have had them in the loft space.

Can anyone help identify what species it is please?

Thanks!

GC

[Dogghound]

Its a Brown long eared Bat Plecotus auritus , this one is currently dormant/hibernating. Its best to leave it, infact its imperative so try no to disturb it. These often hibernate alone or in small groups, they seem to like loft spaces in Britain.

[coatesg]

That's brilliant - thanks for the help! I'm very happy to leave it alone as much as possible and let it hibernate in our loft - I think it's great!

(I only noticed it up there when I was re-setting our mouse traps and getting the Xmas decorations down... - though, my guess is that a lot of the droppings up there are actually bat droppings and not necessarily mouse droppings as I thought before!)

Thanks again for the ID!

[Dogghound]

Long eared bats sometimes use the same summer and winter roost more so in grey long eared bats. Browns often hibernate below ground level, but sometimes in tree holes and houses. Yes these droppings could be from bats, bat droppings tend to crumble, mouse droppings smudge.

[faz]

wow nice find lucky you

[nightshade]

This link may help you, you are so lucky
Search - Bat Conservation Trust