2011-2012 Year of the Bat

[nightshade]

You may have noticed our most amazing mammal flitting around, you may even have been bold enough to buy a Bat Detector. Now all you have to do is leave the TV and the comfort of your armchair and join a Bat walk or just see what is on your own patch or merely sit in your back garden with a glass od red and watch/listen. Year of the Bat | Bat Conservation | United Nations Bat Convention

[htcdude]

Thanks for the link.

I've never been on a bat walk before. I've seen bats around when out places, but wouldn't have a clue what they are!

Nige

[nightshade]

Most Bat Groups organise walks, my own, the Avon Bat Group is excellent in this respect and will arrange an experienced guide for your own walks as will most other groups.
Home - Avon Bat Group
Warwickshire Bat Group
Bat Conservation Trust
The Bats of Britain

[Richard Baber]

Bat walks are great fun. I went on one in Regent's Park in London several years ago and was instantly hooked on bat watching. With the help of a couple of bat detectors we saw lots of pipistrelles and a noctule or two. I bought a Mark 1 Magenta bat detector kit which I managed to put together without any previous soldering experience, though it was a bit fiddly. I see Magenta still sell a kit for £38.80: Bat Detector Mk 2. Mine still works fine, though there are far more sophisticated (and expensive) detectors available. I remember using it to show my Dad that he still had plenty of pipistrelles flitting around his house, despite him not having actually seen one for a few years.

As Nightshade says, get outside at dusk and enjoy the show!

Richard

[CharlieCreek]

They certainly are good fun and everyone always seems to enjoy them, even before the bats emerge I think people love the experience of being out after dusk in areas where they otherwise would not consider being.

Apart from the bat groups check out your local ranger service as well who will most likely be running a number of bat and bat and moth nights during the year.

The bat nights are one of my favorites to lead as even when the number of bats seen are low everyone still really enjoys the evening.

[Deb London]

Bats are something we have been planting trees for this year (to shadow a wood from a floodlit pitch). Very appropriate work then in the light of this!

[Cowgirl]

I've often wondered this....

If you leave your outside light on, will the fact that it attracts moths etc attract more bats or would they avoid bright lights in general

So is it good or bad to leave a light on?

[Deb London]

It's a very interesting subject. This is the latest from the BCT:

Bats and Lighting

Lighting can have a harmful effect on bats impacting on their use of a roost and also their commuting routes and foraging areas. Light falling on a roost access point is likely to delay bats from emerging and thereby shorten the amount of foraging time available to them, which is especially damaging around emergence time as that is when there is a peak in the number of insects. In the worst case scenario, it can cause the bats to desert the roost.

Bats and their roosts are all protected by law and bats should always be taken into account when lighting is being considered.

Not sure if an outside light would upset them to much though.

[nightshade]

Originally Posted by Deb London

Bats are something we have been planting trees for this year (to shadow a wood from a floodlit pitch). Very appropriate work then in the light of this!

Did you see the Bristol University paper Bats and Lighting Deb? Nice work screening off the lights.

[nightshade]

Originally Posted by Cowgirl

I've often wondered this....

If you leave your outside light on, will the fact that it attracts moths etc attract more bats or would they avoid bright lights in general

So is it good or bad to leave a light on?

Generally the darker the better some bats will forage around low wattage lighting others will shun powerfull lighting. Personally the less lighting the better I feel
Bats and Lighting Research Project