Large winged creatures

[suffolk]

Hi everyone
Any ideas what the strange large winged insects that fly over my pond at night are? They move really quickly but soundlessly. They appear to be about 6 inches long. They move so fast you only get a fleeting glimpse.

[Tursiops2]

Sounds very like bats to me.

T2

[Tobyh]

Yep, first thing that occured to me too

TobyH

[suffolk]

Thanks for your replies!

I don't think they're bats. They have stick like bodies and large wings. I wish I could capture them on camera but I need professional equipment!

It's so hard to describe. They appear to have silvery wings. I imagine bats would be a dense black?

[Red Robin]

^^^^
Very slim and with silver wings, you say. Hmmm... Try whispering the name "Tinker Bell" and see if she responds . And if she does, ask her if she's got a sister and if so I'll be around there quick as a flash!

[Sorry, I couldn't resist it. It was either that or a Count Dracula reference]

Your description sounds a bit like Dragonfly but do they fly at night? Is it a regular nightly occurrence? Anything else we should know such as whether you've been eating magic mushrooms? [I must stop this frivolity!]

[Matt Smith]

Problem is, nothing we have in the UK insect wise comes anywhere near 6 inches in size. How about Mayflies?, though I still think bats are most likely.

[Red Robin]

Originally Posted by Matt Smith

Problem is, nothing we have in the UK insect wise comes anywhere near 6 inches in size. How about Mayflies?, though I still think bats are most likely.

....Thank goodness they're not 6 inches! Imagine the havoc . And my car's air intake would be served a nasty mess of a problem, as would the radiators/intercoolers. Once upon a time 300 million years ago dragonflies had over a 2 foot wingspan!! It could happen again!

Mayflies? In the current world they're smaller than most damselflies or dragonflies.

[suffolk]

Honestly this isn't a wind up. I only see them at night. There are several of them. They appear too big to be dragonflies. And they're not just an inch above the pond surface they are flying about. I will try and get a picture this evening and upload anything that I've managed to capture.

[King Edward]

Surely these must be bats - they often fly around ponds at night, and will drink from the surface. Often you can see them in the late evening while there's still enough light.

Dragonflies are pretty noisy fliers, especially when turning, since the fore and hind wings hit each other. And Mayflies rather flutter about

I'd have thought you could get a photo of a bat with even an ordinary digital camera using flash - it wouldn't be a very good photo, but should be good enough for ID (at least, to determine whether it's a bat or not). You'd want to prefocus at approximately the right distance rather than trying to autofocus on the creature itself.

[~T~]

This is better than the sci-fi channel. Looking forward to seeing some pics!!