Following an invite from Michael and Carl I made my first visit to the reserve to find out more about the bats that are using the site. Accompanied by some friends from the North Notts Bat Group we set out on a less than perfect evening to see what was about.
The wind was blowing strongly which meant the more sheltered areas close to the woodland provided the best chances of finding a bat or two. The first bat was a Common Pipistrelle closely followed by a Myotis bat which was probably a Daubenton's bat on its way to one of the nearby ponds. We saw several Daubenton's hunting over the more sheltered ponds on the reserve. Common pipistrelle was the most numerous bat during the first part of the walk with several Myotis sp. recorded. It is not possible to be 100% accurate on the ID of Myotis bats on sound alone but I suspect that there may have been one or two whiskered/Brandt's about. At the viewing screen area the pipistrelles recorded were all the Soprano species. There was also a Myotis bat flying here as well.
Thank you to Michael and Carl for organising the visit and I look forward to visiting again.
Michael WalkerSouth Notts Bat Group
Hi Michael
Thank you for the report. It was a shame the weather wasn't a bit better but it didn't dampen everyone's interest and enthusiasm, and hopefully we'll have more suitable evenings when the bat groups return for visits next year. Sheila Wright and Brian Hedley operated moth traps but the weather affected the moths more, with a combined catch of a black rustic, two large wainscots and a sallow. Some of us also saw a barn owl as it flew along the eastern public footpath and landed on a fence post.
To find out more about Nottinghamshire's bats and the activities of South Notts Bat Group see
www.southnottsbatgroup.org.uk
Carl