Swarm of pipistrelles!

Lovely evening for a stroll, last night, much as it is tonight. What a fantastic spectacle over the river...



As I leaned over the bridge parapet, my bat detectors burst into frenzied life. Impossible to count, a positive swarm of pipistrelle bats were swooping backwards and forwards, foraging for tiny insects. True to form, the majority of the bats were Soprano Pipistrelles, which usually feed in wetland habitats. I'm sure that if I'd waited a little longer, the pips would have been joined by that real water specialist, the Daubenton's Bat, but I'll leave that to another night.

If you live near a river, canal or large pond, do get out and enjoy the experience of these superb masters of the night air. Don't forget to send me your records!

2014 Living with Mammals survey commences

Today sees the start of the PTES 2014 Living with Mammals survey. I've been taking part in this nationwide survey of mammals in the built environment since it started in 2003. It's an easy one to take part in as you can give as little or as much time as you are able and it is designed to be done in your garden or other 'built' space. It is surveys like this one which tell us important information about how our mammals are doing; for example, this survey, along with Mammals on Roads, has helped highlight the continued decline of our Hedgehogs. Do take part if you can.

I popped out for five minutes tonight on returning from dog training class, to see what was about. I took my new Elekon Batscanner and I hadn't even stepped out the door and I heard a Soprano Pipistrelle. This was shortly followed by a Common Pipistrelle, so in less than a minute I could confidently say that I had at least 2 bats flying round the garden.

Living with Mammals does not require you to identify species of bat, so its great if you just see one or two flying around. However, if you do record any species, I would love to know.

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!

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!!