Last night saw the reserve host it's annual bat and moth night (or "mat and both night" as I seem to keep saying) under the title of 'Creatures of the Night'.
At 9pm, as the rain was beginning to fall, the group of 20+ gathered in the classroom. Morgan Bowers (who you can follow here on Twitter) led the bat half of the evening and gave a very informative 20 min talk about the flying mammals with excellent support from Pip, the 2 month old (and very cute) pipistrelle. We then headed out of the centre with Morgan armed with a bat detector to see what we could see and hear.
As we left the centre we were immediately greeted by the 'chip, chop, chip, chop' noises on the bat detector and a couple of pip's wild relatives flew low over our heads. A great start - and the kids loved it! We carried on down through the reserve towards the hide seeing more and more pipistrelles zipping above our heads whilst listening to them issue different calls. Having meandered our way down to the bench which is just past the hide, and with torches illuminating the area low over the water, we saw daubenton's bats. They were skimming low over the water, dangling their hairy legs in order to catch the small insects which were at suface level. Fantastic to watch as their pale underside caught the torchlight.
After this a return to the centre was in order (which involved waling through the car park which was eerily lit with moth traps) for refreshments and the start of the moth hunt. Mike West from the Sandwell Naturalists group (SandNats) gave an introductory talk and handed around some moth specimens which had already been caught in the evening. These close views illustrated the beautifully intricate markings which can be found on moths, instantly disproving the misconception that they are just dull and boring (a revelation to some of the kids - and adults!).
Back up to the car park we walked to examine the different types of moth traps which had been set up by other members of SandNats and look at yet more species of moth. They varied hugely in size, patterning, colouration and even shape. A total of 27 different species were found with a few more yet to be identified - not bad for a damp, cool evening which was certainly not ideal for moths.
All-in-all a great time was had by all and everyone learned a thing or two, especially me seeing as it was the first Bat and Moth night I have been able to attend.
Mike Ixer