Project Update – Spring 2005

This spring sees the national launch of the Environmental Stewardship Entry Level Scheme. This is good news for our local bats as it provides farmers with grant payments to compensate them for wildlife friendly management of their land. Of particular value for horseshoe bats is the financial encouragement for farmers to cut their hedges less regularly. Larger hedges are especially valued by horseshoes and other bats as flight path routes used both for foraging and navigation.

The Batscapes field officers are now helping farmers with their applications for Entry Level Scheme grants and advising them on which hedges and other farm features would be most valued to be managed in accordance with the wildlife friendly outlines of the scheme. If you are a farmer or landowner interested in taking advantage of the free help that the field officers can provide then contact them directly at the numbers above.

The bats themselves should have emerged from hibernation and it is now vital that they regain the body weight that they lost over the winter. The weather will play an important role as on cold or rainy nights few insects will fly and the bats then face the risk of starvation. For greater horseshoe bats there is light at the end of the tunnel as later in the spring as the weather warms, a horseshoe bat delicacy, the cockchafer beetle or may-bug, will start to fly. The bats will then switch to feed almost exclusively where possible on this large slow-flying insect for the next few weeks.

Batscapes Training

2005 sees the start of the Batscapes training program, providing an opportunity for free training to allow people to become more involved in the conservation of bats. There are a number of training events happening in the early spring at indoor meetings and then in the late spring/early summer as the bats emerge from hibernation there will be outdoor surveys organised where we can put theory into practice. Both indoor and outdoor events are free and open to all. To book a place on any course contact the Batscapes Project Officer, Dan Merrett, on 01225 477619.

Identifying bats in the hand and by droppings led by John Knight, 10th February 7:30pm, Willsbridge, East Bristol
A run through the features to look for when identifying bats in the hand, also using bat droppings as a guide to the species present.

Bats in Avon by Dan Merrett, 10th March 7:30pm, Frenchay, North Bristol, as part of Avon Bat Group AGM
An overview of the bats of Avon, where we have found them and where else we think they might be.

Using Bat Identification Software led by Jacquie Warren, 14th April 7:30pm, Willsbridge, East Bristol
Identification of bats using recordings made from frequency division and time expansion detectors run through Batsounds/Batscan software.

Identifying Bats using Bat Detectors by Dan Merrett, 5th May 7:30pm, Folly Farm Nature Reserve, nr Bishop’s Sutton
The use of standard heterodyne bat detectors to identify bats from their echolocation calls. Will be followed by a dusk walk around the reserve.

Practical Conservation Work
On the Monday the 14th of February the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers (BTCV) will be leading a volunteer party planting a new hedgerow at a farm near Bath. The hedge is in an area where radio tracking has shown the rare greater horseshoe bats to be flying. These bats are heavily reliant on features such as lines of trees and hedgerows to follow when they fly, so the work should directly help them. If you fancy doing your bit then contact the Batscapes Project Officer, Dan Merrett, on 01225 477619 for further details.