F O H W Goes Batty !

A big thank you to our Trustee, John Pearse, for leading two bat walks on Hell Wath.

The first took place on Sunday morning 30th August and was a walk round to check the bat boxes. First a torch is used to look up into each bat box to see if any bats can be spotted roosting. If so, a camera on an extension pole is carefully inserted into the bat box to view and take photos of the bats present. The number and species of the bats can then be determined and recorded. 15 bats were recorded in six different locations, with four bats huddled together in one box.

The second took place on Monday evening and was an introductory talk followed by a walk around Hell Wath from dusk to dark to spot any bats flying around. We are grateful to two members of the North Yorkshire Bat Group who came along and brought a couple of live Common Pipistrelle bats in a box for us to see. These were two rescued bats which cannot be returned to the wild due to their injuries. ( Please note: the bat handlers are certified to handle and care for these bats and we only looked, we did not touch !) It was really interesting to learn more about the bat species we have present on Hell Wath, the lives of bats and how they use echolocation to hunt and communicate. Four different species of bat were identified using ‘bat monitors’ which pick up the bat’s echolocation signals: Common Pipistrelles, Sopranos, Noctules and Daubentons.

We also checked a couple of bat boxes on the walk and found one box providing a convenient roost for a bat and a blue tit !

It’s good to know we have these bat species present on Hell Wath and FOHW are keen to increase the habitats needed to support the bats and the insects they need to survive and thrive.