Hi everyone, Paula here!
I realise that this blog is a little bit late, but please forgive me. I have been recently approached by many a Hollywood studio, who upon seeing how warmly received my blog is becoming, have decided to use my talents to write screenplays for big budget upcoming movies.
Not really, I'm just late. And I seem to have developed a massive ego also. Hmm. This time around, my blog post is dedicated to all things batty!
On Friday 9 September the Cheshire Bat Group were lovely enough to lead a bat walk at Burton Mere Wetlands. I was in attendance and turned up on time (a first for me) with another friend who was also interested to learn about the many bats that are found after-hours on the reserve. Upon my arrival I noticed that there was a really good turnout; the Reception Hide was pretty full, a refreshing reminder that there are many people who enjoy the reserve for so much more than just its birds.
Pipistrelle bat by Rahul Thanki (rspb-images.com)
We were introduced to the Cheshire Bat Group, who then started the night with an introduction to bats, those that we could potentially see that night, as well as explaining the bat detectors that we would all use. As with most technologies, bat detectors range from the very basic to the extremely technical versions. These nifty little gadgets we were to use were very simple and worked very similar to a radio. Different bats can be heard on different frequencies and we would have to 'tune-in' to hear specific bat species.
After the detectors were distributed, we made our way towards the car park where the bat detectors immediately picked up the sounds of soprano pipistrelle bats. These bats are very similar to the common pipistrelle, however, they register on the detectors at a higher frequency. As we made our way towards the Gorse Covert Woodland trail, we started to see the bats flying and swooping over our heads. It was exciting to see how many bats there were just in this area alone and the sound coming from all the detectors was mesmerising. It almost sounded like a helicopter at times.
After a quick walk through the woodland where we mainly picked up more pipistrelles (most likely both common and soprano), we then backtracked and headed to the old fishery pools.
WOW, this was an absolute treat. When I was told we should see Daubenton's bats, I never thought we would see so many! Daubenton's bats are often known as the 'water bat' as they are only found around bodies of water. This bat flies close to the water, hunting insects with their large feet and tails. It would seem that Daubenton's really love Burton Mere Wetlands as there were lots of them and not only could we hear them through the bat detectors, we could see them very clearly too as they flitted with great speed over the pools; it was certainly pretty magical.
The Cheshire Bat Group believe that there are quite a few different species of bats making their home at the reserve and have suggested that it would be quite interesting to leave some bat detectors at the reserve for a week to see exactly what types of bats can be found here. It is entirely possible that lesser horseshoe bats could be found here too, which is exciting as they are extremely rare in this part of England, although reasonably common in Wales. As the reserve is on the Welsh border, it would not be that unheard of for a lesser horseshoe to be present here.
As I have mentioned in previous blogs, Burton Mere Wetlands is home to so much more than just birds and the land is specifically protected to provide a home for all wildlife, including bats. Money provided from donations and memberships to the RSPB is what makes this happen. Your funding is what helps to keep nature thriving and we appreciate every single penny.
And just before I leave you for this week, here are some of the fascinating facts I learned from Cheshire Bat Group:
Bats are the only mammals that are capable of continued flight, rather than gliding.
There are over 1,000 different species of bat.
Not all bats go into strict hibernation. Some will migrate, some will hibernate and a great deal will go into torpor (a state of semi-hibernation interspersed with waking periods).
Bats can mate in the autumn and winter months, yet not actually start the pregnancy stage until after they wake from hibernation or torpor. They have a unique ability to store male sperm.
One insect-eating bat will consume literally thousands of insects in a night. If bats didn't exist, we would become overrun by insects, which would not only affect humans but crop production too.
Bats use echolocation to guide them in the dark. They project sound and if it doesn't echo back to them they know that there is no object in their path and can proceed. Echolocation is also used to find prey.
Echolocation is often at a frequency too high for human hearing. This is why bat detectors are used.
Bats hang upside down whilst they sleep as this is an optimal position for the bat to take off into flight. They are not able to launch themselves into flight from an upright position.
Possibly the most interesting-looking bat is a Yoda bat, which has been found in Papua New Guinea. This tube-nosed bat bears an extremely striking resemblance to the Jedi master himself!