Bat Box Checking

As a prelude to the third day of the hunt for the Bechsteins, Bob and Lia headed off to our third wood, which we reckoned was our best bet yet. It was our last so we could get the hang of the technique.

Lia Gilmour shows the site for the harp trap Photo Bob Cornes

Photo Bob Cornes

Brown long eared bat - Photo by Bob Cornes

They combined looking for sites with partial check of the bat boxes there.There were no bats at home last month, so expectations were low. However the first box that was examined had 15 Brown long eareds in, and in all four of the 30 boxes we checked were occupied. This included 2 male and four female brown long eared bats in a 2F box, the first we have have found occupied. Most of the females were obviously pregnant.The one on the above is one of the males

Brown long eared bat Photo Lia Gilmour