the online meeting place for all who love our amphibians and reptiles
Home Page Live Forums Archived Forums Site Search Identify Record Donate Projects Links
Forum Home Forum Home > General > What is it?
  New Posts New Posts RSS Feed - Bats
  FAQ FAQ  Forum Search   Events   Register Register  Login Login

Bats

 Post Reply Post Reply
Author
Message
Suzy View Drop Down
Senior Member
Senior Member


Joined: 06 Apr 2005
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 1447
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Suzy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Bats
    Posted: 07 Jul 2014 at 2:34pm
Are any of you interested in bats? We have always had pipistrelles here (sadly we used to have lots and now seem to have only a few) but just this past week or so there has been another species. It is bigger than the pipistrelle and emerges much earlier. At the moment this is 9.40/9.45 and by soon after 10pm they have disappeared. I sit out watching them and the first night saw 2, this has built up to seeing 4 by last night. They don't fly in such a crazy fashion as pipistrelles and generally are a bit higher up. I seem to detect something protruding on their head/nose area, but beyond that I've no idea what they are. Trying to ID them from the Internet or Youtube has been fruitless.
I know it's hard to ID from my comments, but can anyone point me in the direction of a good ID resource? No I don't have a bat detector - ought I to?
Suz
Back to Top
S10 WRM View Drop Down
Member
Member
Avatar

Joined: 06 Mar 2013
Location: Droitwich Spa
Status: Offline
Points: 17
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote S10 WRM Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07 Jul 2014 at 9:32pm
Slightly difficult without seeing them but my initial thought was brown long-eared (or grey long-eared since you're in Devon and could have both).They are bigger than pips and have an entirely different wing beat, a bit more fluttery, like a white admiral butterfly if you're familiar with those.
 
However, long-eared bats tend to emerge later than pips, usually about 20 mins after sunset or later. Noctules and Leisler's bats are the earliest to emerge (often half hour before sunset) but they do appear blooming big (can look the size of blackbirds when flying although when at rest with wings folded they will fit into the palm of a man's hand). Both tend to fly high with Leisler's swoopng steeply down and noctules maintaining a more level flight path.
Are you seeing the bats emerge or do they just appear from elsewhere? If they are emerging where from? Long-eareds are generally more common roosting in buildings and the other two are tend to prefer trees but you can't always go on that alone.
 
The fact that you say there's something protruding from their heads would suggest that they are long-eareds because as the name suggests they have long ears that show up in flight s well as when at rest.
 
Using a bat detector would help. Maybe have a look on the Bat Conservation Trust website for more ID but i have a feeling they will also say use a detector.
 
Finally i am embarrassed to admit that i know anything about bloody bats but can i plead that i'm paid to?
Back to Top
Suzy View Drop Down
Senior Member
Senior Member


Joined: 06 Apr 2005
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 1447
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Suzy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Jul 2014 at 12:07pm
Thanks for posting - I do appreciate it.
I know it is almost impossible to ID them without you seeing them.
Still appearing at 9.45ish and disappearing at 10pmish. They seem to emerge from a mature treeline (oaks, ash etc) by a deeply sunken stream at the bottom of the gardens (large gardens here so more like a big field). However I realise they might have come from somewhere else but each night they seem to appear more or less from the same gap in the trees.
Their size does look blackbird-like, and last night there was an early pip out so it was easy to see just how large they were in comparison.
I would say their main flying height is about the level of the gutter on a house - up to the level of the chimney. Unlike the pips that like to patrol up and down parallel to the backs of our houses here these bats patrol over the gardens almost exclusively.
Their flight is fairly level but they do occasionally swoop and last night I saw them gliding at times - something I've never seen a pip do.
I think you're correct that I need a bat detector!


Suz
Back to Top
 Post Reply Post Reply
  Share Topic   

Forum Jump Forum Permissions View Drop Down

Forum Software by Web Wiz Forums® version 11.06
Copyright ©2001-2016 Web Wiz Ltd.

This page was generated in 0.313 seconds.