Monday 21st June is our summer solstice, our longest day followed by our shortest night; a perfect time to sit outside in the evening to look out for bats.
Brown Long-eared Bat: Dale Sutton (rspb-images.com)
We have 17 breeding species of bats here in the UK, and some of the most common we are likely to see flying in and around our gardens are the common Pipistrelle, the Soprano pipistrelle which is smaller than the common one, the Brown long eared bat, the Noctule bat and Daubentons bat.
They hibernate in trees, old barns and abandoned buildings and caves but are extremely active at this time of year feeding themselves and their young, which are called pups. A mother bat usually only has one pup and will suckle her pup with her milk for approximately four or five weeks until it is able to fly and start hunting for itself. There is a fun and simple, kid friendly calendar online to find out more about the year in the life of a bat.
Bats don’t have wings as such, they have two thin layers of skin stretched over their arms and elongated fingers. Bats.org.uk point out that "bats are the only mammal that can truly fly (rather than glide). Their wings are actually hands that have adapted for flight, which means they are very flexible and able to move independently. This fantastic manoeuvrability arguably makes bats better at flying than birds!” Bat's also wrap their skin "wings" around fruit and insects to get a better grip on them while eating.
Around 70% of the world's bat species use echolocation otherwise known as sonar, to locate their prey while hunting. They create high frequency sounds and listen to the "bounce-back" sounds that return from the object. They can determine what kind of object it is, where it is and in which direction it's coming from and moving to. They can also see reasonably well in the daytime, they are not blind and are able to visually detect the light fading to know when it's time to come out to hunt. This is when the echolocation comes in for prey location precision.
Like so much of our native wildlife, bat numbers have sadly dramatically declined over the years due to loss of habitat, reduced insect numbers to feed on as farming practices change and more pesticides are used, and also by the general increase in human disturbance. With approximately 23 million homes having garden's in the UK, it's amazing what a positive impact we can have collectively in attracting bats to our garden.
We can grow a variety of plants that attract a wide variety of insects throughout the year from spring to autumn as well as growing plants that have evening scent to attract more moths. Planting trees, hedges and large shrubs if we have the space will also give bats natural objects to help with their navigation in the area as well as offering additional roosting spots. We can provide another home by putting up a ready-made bat box or have a go at making our own wooden bat box. Avoiding the use of pesticides will increase insect numbers in gardens and will be beneficial to all garden wildlife. The RHS also offer their advice on what you can do to help bats in your garden.
Discover what to do from the Essex Bat group if you have found a bat and there is more information from the National Bat Helpline if you need further support.
Should it be too damp or chilly to stay out and watch bats through the evening, here are a few fascinating videos about bats to watch online: David Attenborough looks back on Filming in the giant bat cave in Borneo, How bats hunt their prey, The world's largest gathering of fruit bats in Zambia and watching bats flying in slow motion.
Whether it's dry, windy, wet or cold on Monday evening, the bats and all our other evening and nocturnal wildlife will be out there, perhaps a little later than usual when the sun finally starts to go down.
For more inspiration on wildlife gardening, the Flatford Wildlife Garden, is now open every day until October from 10.30am – 4.30pm. Entrance to the garden is free and well-behaved dogs on leads are welcome. Car parking is £5 at the Flatford National Trust car park and this gives you access to the stunning countryside walks around Dedham Vale in Constable Country.