Holy mackerel bat woman – its bats in the belfry!

Anne Youngman’s bat blog

Batty old woman here, reporting from the attic on a brilliantly batty talk and walk that was held at Dunblane Cathedral on Saturday 18th September.

The event was organised by Historic Scotland’s very own Bat Woman; Natalie Taylor (also known fondly as Nat-the-Bat to her friends). I was “Robin” her beautiful assistant (Ha Ha).

Flocks of Dunblane folk gathered at the cathedral for a bit of an evening adventure. Their first task was a hunt to find the Cathedral’s own resident bat. Ben (only 9) found the carved bat miserichord under one of the choir stalls. It’s a rather strange bat, more like a cat with wings. Why it’s there and what its significance is, is a complete mystery (But if YOU know the explanation I’d love to hear it!)

Once the cat-bat had been located we returned to our pews. Natalie gave a lively talk with help from willing volunteers in the audience.
We were wowed by the wingspan of the Kalong (it really is long!) and our hearts melted at the sweet name of the Bumble bee bats.
We had fun testing our bat detectors with a sonic cat scarer and we were warned that our pipistrelles would make “rude raspberries” as feeding buzzes. Then just before venturing out into the night we met a very special guest “squeaker”; Catriona McBat.

Catriona is a pipistrelle bat who was found in the Dundee Library (We believe in the Natural History section!). She’d been on a “health farm holiday “ in Dunblane, i.e. sleeping all day and stuffing her face with mealworms all night, and was due to be released outside the library in a few nights time. She tried to tell us all about her adventures but sadly no one understood her squeaks! With Catriona safely tucked back in her box we all flitted out into the night, bat detectors at the ready.

We were very lucky as the weather stayed dry and despite the cool temperature there were plenty of bats around. We heard rude raspberries, wet slappies and grumbling Geiger counter noises - and that was just from the detectors! From the humans there were lots of squeaks of excitement and general bat chat.

When things seemed quiet we made a “hotspot” by standing close together. This attracts insects into the warm air above our heads and seemed to be a way of attracting the bats to come in closer too.
It was such a good night we’ve decided to do it all again next year! Watch this space!

Over and out,

Anne Youngman
The old bat in the Attic, Scottish churches House, Dunblane.


The bat care network:

Just like Catriona McBat, hundreds of bats find themselves injured or grounded and lost away from their roosts every year. For the majority, their chances of survival depend on the goodwill of members of the public and the hard work and dedication of volunteer bat carers.

Thanks to these volunteers, BCT is able to coordinate a bat care network across the UK. There are currently just over 300 bat carers in the network; some are extremely experienced and run bat hospitals, others do small scale bat care and some will only act as an “ambulance driver” or first aid help, preferring to pass bats on to more experienced carers where necessary. BCT also has contact details for a few wildlife hospitals who take in bats on a regular basis, particularly in areas where there are very few bat carers.

In areas where there are no bat carers available, callers have to be advised to take the bats directly to local vets, who can call BCT for information if they are not familiar with bats. There are some counties and areas where there are very few or no contacts and we are therefore always in need of new carers.

If your are interested in finding out more about becoming a bat carer, please email Xenia Snowman (xsnowman@bats.org.uk).

If you find a grounded or injured bat, please call the National Bat Helpline on 0845 1300 228 and we will provide you with details of any bat carers in your local area.

Talking the bat walk

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A common pipistrelle on the wing -- as seen in Regent's Park

(image: Hugh Clark)

BCT's Biodiversity Officer Lisa Hundt helped lead last week's bat walk in Regent's Park -- and did a brilliant job, we might add. Here she reveals her heretofore unknown weakness for red liquorice laces and explains why happy, healthy bats are good for the environment and us, too!

How many bats did you see?
I would say that for the first 15 minutes I could count exactly how many; it was three and I spent that entire time biting my nails wondering if they were going to desert us in our hour of need! Once we got down to the lake there were so many bats looping around foraging that it was difficult to tell, as the same bat will pass by a number of times. I would make a guess at about 40 to 60.

Drawing on your extensive and expert knowledge, what species were they likely to be?
I am slightly intimidated by the words ‘extensive’ and ‘expert’, it might be digging me a hole! The two main species of bats we saw were soprano pipistrelle and common pipistrelle bats. They were the bats that were foraging by the lake, often flying in quite close in what looks like an erratic manner, but they know what they are doing. The other species noted was a noctule bat, which has a slower call. This one was heard by the lake and along the path on the way back.

Judging by their enthusiastic loops and twirls, the bats in Regent’s Park seem pretty healthy and happy. Would you agree? And what does that mean for us humans?
Yes, the bats did seem on form that night. They were making the most of the good weather and stocking up on food in preparation for the inevitable periods within the British summer when the weather turns and there aren’t as many insects for them to feed on.

Bats are great indicators of a healthy environment, which means that if they are happy and healthy, then the environment that we live in is happy and healthy too. This is why it is so important to preserve areas they use. That way we preserve the environment for us to enjoy and for all the other species that live there as well.

Walk highlight?
Getting to the lake to see the pipistrelles foraging.

Walk lowpoint?
Not being able to take a cheese plate with us!

If people are interested in going on a bat walk, what should they do?
If you are interested in learning more about bats and going on a bat walk the best place to start is by contacting your local bat group who will often organise events over the summer. Look on the BCT website to find your nearest group.

Would you like to make a bat walk shout-out?
Bat walk shout out goes to Jenny Clark and her bats. Brilliant!

You’ve only been with us for a few weeks – how’re you finding it so far? Maybe you could tell us a little about what you do at BCT?
My role at BCT involves a bit of everything; lobbying, commenting on consultations for draft policy, working with Natural England and other organisations on initiatives such as the Biodiversity Action Plans (BAP), drafting guidance documents, as well as supporting BCT projects. I am finding working for BCT interesting, fun and rewarding -- as you can tell I am still at the point where I am full of enthusiasm, which I hope will continue.

Anything else you’d like to add?
Something you might not know about me: I am a PADI dive master and have a weakness for red liquorice laces.

A bat walk, eh. What's that like?

We often get asked this question here at BCT. Well, we reply, a bat walk is a chance to see and hear bats in their natural habitat -- flitting through the trees, skimming over the water -- usually at night. It's really rather magical, and a fantastic way to explore your local environment.

Philip Briggs, of our National Bat Monitoring Programme (NBMP) Team, explains:

The essentials for a bat walk are a good bat foraging habitat (such as a park, woodland or lake) that is accessible for people to walk around at night, and some bat detectors to hand around that enable the bats’ ultrasonic calls to be heard.

Normally bat walks are preceded by a talk on bats in general and the species that are likely to be seen or heard at the site. This may take place outdoors at the start point of the walk, or can involve an illustrated talk inside a nearby venue. How much other wildlife gets pointed out depends on the wider knowledge of the bat walk leaders, but few people can resist stopping to listen to the calls of owls or watch foxes, badgers and even toads that are spotted roaming around at night.

This is what you might hear on your bat detector -- a pipistrelle, Britain's most common bat. Or, if you're really lucky, a greater horsehoe.

If you'd like to find out more about bat walks in your area, amble over to our website or email Bat Group Officer Laura Dunne.

(Scottish sunset: Anney Youngman)