The Fabulous Four

Finally a gorgeous summer's evening - not a cloud in the sky (for a while), calm & quite warm. The insects were out in abundance and so were their main predators. Within 300m of home, in just 30 minutes, I saw and heard (on my Batbox Duet bat detector) four different species of bat!

First it was our largest, the Noctule, which was flying quite low, foraging over the fields on the outskirts of the village. Shortly after I heard and then saw a Common Pipistrelle, on a commute. Wandering on to the bridge and leaning over the parapet, I was treated to a cacophony of bat sound, as below me, Daubenton's skimmed low of the water's surface, catching their prey, whilst a little higher, Soprano Pipistrelle's sought the smaller aerial invertebrates, such as midges.

Well worth taking the dogs for an evening stroll on a night like this!

MBG's first excursion

An enjoyable, if tiring, day with the Montgomeryshire Bat Group (MBG), carrying out a bat hibernation survey in an impressive slate mine above Llangynog. Quite a slog up the steep hill to the mine, but once inside a good time was had by all. We saw a Greater Horseshoe, about 20 Lesser Horseshoes, a Brown Long-eared and a few Myotis bats, including one which was definitely a Daubenton’s. On the way back down, we popped in to an older lead mine, where there were another 10 or so Lesser Horseshoes and a few Myotis. For photos of MBG’s first excursion, check out the Facebook page: www.facebook.com/MontgomeryshireBatGroup

We still know so little about the bats in Montgomeryshire; this information will not only help inform national trends, but also help build a clearer picture about bats in the area. If you know where some bats are roosting, please email me.

Bats at Cors Dyfi

Worked my first ever night shift (of any kind!) on Saturday night, Sunday morning, helping to maintain 24 hour suveillance on Monty & Nora, the Dyfi Ospreys. When not keeping my eyes glued to the screens watching Nora's every move whilst she incubated the eggs, I was trying to record the bats on the reserve (Cors Dyfi).

When the rain stopped, about midnight, a walk around the reserve with my Batbox Duet revealed Soprano & Common Pipistrelle, Noctule and even a Daubenton's briefly over the first pool. The real highlight was watching  a Clous of Noctules (yes apparently that is a collective noun for bats; I'd not heard it either!) whizzing around over the reserve at about 5am, foraging for their last snack before bed! Fantastic!!