As part of our #Volunteersweek celebrations, we wanted to share with you some of the stories from our very own RSPB volunteers. With almost 2000 volunteers helping in the South East alone, we can achieve much more for wildlife with their help than we ever could alone!RSPB volunteer Elaine Charlson regularly helps out as a volunteer with practical conservation work at RSPB Hazeley Heath reserve, but also has a passion for bats, so in 2015 went on a bat care course. She tells us more about what caring for bats involves... Since going on a bat care course in course I’ve been mainly caring for pipistrelle bats. The first two were uninjured juveniles, Ruth and Boosh. Boosh was given her name because she was covered in mites when found. My job was to hand feed them twice a day to help them put on weight – initially their food consisted of baby dog milk mixed with boiled water and calcium supplement, and prepared mealworms (a messy job!). Over time I gradually introduced more solid food. After feeding, the young bats would hang off my finger, grooming then practicing flapping their wings. Ruth's first flight was a very exciting moment. Another pair of pipistrelles I looked after were males, Binnie and Dill. Binnie was a real character and very ‘chatty’, whereas Dill was much quieter and more advanced. Binnie had a hole in his wing but with some tlc and warmth it quickly healed. Earlier this year, a gorgeous brown long-eared bat called Benson was with me for a while. When they are not stressed or are asleep their ears are tucked away under their wings and look like spiral rams' horns. Definitely my favourite species! The current bats in care are all pipistrelles: Shurlock, who has a bad leg and cannot fly well; Janey, who has several partially amputated finger bones after cat inflicted wing damage; Kiwi, with fur loss being treated with Evening Primrose oil; Holly, with a about half of her wing missing between the wrist joint and body/tail, but flies remarkably well and is a bit of an escapologist; and Pigeon Sue who has no obvious injury, but is the noisiest of the lot. They are all self-feeding on live mealworms, so are very easy to care for. The ones who will never fly well enough to be released will be used as educational bats to meet the public at our bat talks and walks. Of course it’s always very rewarding to hear that bats I’ve cared for have been released back into the wild.
As part of my role with the RSPB I give guided bat talks at the RSPB Hazeley and Farnham Heath reserves, so do come along and find out more about our bats!
To find out about our volunteering opportunities near you visit our website.