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Bats

 

Bats and Echolocation

 

Bats use a sonar system to emit bursts of high frequency sound, usually out of human hearing range. The information carried within the echoes of the sound is used by the bats to build an image of their surroundings. Using this system they can establish the precise location of their prey, usually flying insects, at night. Please click on the links below to listen to the varying calls of some of our resident species of bat.

 

Common pipistrelle (Pipistrellus pipistrellus)

 

 

Daubenton’s Bat (Myotis daubentonii)

 

 

Noctule (Nyctalus noctula)

 

 

The sounds above were recorded using a Bat Detector and a digital recording device. The bat detector used has two ‘modes’:- Heterodyne and Frequency Division. The calls were recorded in frequency division mode and analysed to produce Sonograms using a program called Wavesurfer. The resulting Sonograms can be studied within Wavesurfer in order to establish call duration, peak frequency and inter-pulse interval; all of which aids species identification. An example of a Sonogram can be found here.

 

 

Bats and the Law

 

British bats are protected by both UK and European legislation including the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, the Countryside and Rights of Way Act (CRoW Act) 2000 and probably the most significant The Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2010

 

Under the current legislation a person commits an offence if he—

     (a) captures, injures or kills a bat;

     (b) disturbs a bat

     (c) damages or destroys a bat roost or resting place.

 

 

Bats and Buildings

 

All of our UK species of bat have been recorded using buildings to varying degrees. Some species such as the common pipistrelle and the brown long-eared rely heavily on buildings. Maintaining access for bats into buildings, both new and old, is therefore vital for maintaining and hopefully enhancing our bat populations. The following drawings were designed by English Nature’s (now Natural England) Cumbria team. They provide details on incorporating bat access features into buildings. The drawings are a guide only and we recommend that a qualified ecologist/bat worker is consulted in order to provide advice on species and site specific factors.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It may not always be advisable or practical to allow bats access into buildings or cavity walls. In such circumstances it is possible to provide roosting opportunities which are built into external walls. Probably the best option is to install bat tubes such as those manufactured by SCHWEGLER and distributed in the UK by Jacobi Jayne. The 2FR shown in more detail here enables a number of interconnecting tubes to be fitted together to provide a larger and more complex habitat. The 2FR also has an optional opening at the back to allow access into existing cavity wall roosts.

 

To view a more complete range of bat roosting and bird nesting products which can be incorporated into buildings click on the PDF icon Information courtesy of Jacobi Jayne.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bats and Trees

 

Tree are vitally important for our bats. The majority of British bat species have been recorded roosting in trees and some, such as the Noctule, rely almost exclusively on them. Noctules are often found in Woodpecker holes appearing to prefer them over natural cavities. Some researchers have suggested that Noctules may be dependant on woodpeckers to provide suitable roosting opportunities.

 

The picture to the right shows an old woodpecker hole which could be used by Noctules for roosting. The hole is formed in a soft section of the stem of a tree. The stem has been infected by a decay fungi which has caused the wood to become soft enough to allow the woodpecker to create the hole. This potential roost has been created by a complex ecological relationship between Beech tree (Fagus sylvatica), Tinder fungus (Fomes fomentarius) and woodpecker, possibly the Green Woodpecker (Picus viridis)

It isn’t just roosting opportunities that make trees useful for bats. Trees attract insects and therefore provide valuable foraging habitats.

 

The image to the left is of a row of Common lime (Tilia x europaea). This particular row of trees is an urban feeding site for Common pipistrelles.

 

Interactive Home

 

Arboriculture

Trees and planning flow- chart

Cascade chart for tree retention

 

 

Bats

Bats and Echolocation

Bats and the Law

Bats and Buildings

Bats and Trees