Hi
I write this with a heavy heart, having set-up this Blog to inform you all of the progress of the Noctule that was brought into captivity some 3 and a bit years ago. Then she give birth and the saga of the release of the pup followed.
Over the last three and a bit years this bat has worked for the bat group as an educational bat and has reached many 1000's of people. Helping to dispel myths and fears of these wonderful creatures.
She has been to schools, WI meetings, events and many other functions. She was much loved by the group and it is sad news for the bat group and those that have meet her over the years.
Unfortunately over the weekend (13/09/2013) she died whilst being looked after by one of the bat care team (I was away for the weekend).
She had been displaying some symptoms of being ill, such as being bunged up and going off her food. And although we did everything to help her the efforts were in vane.
This blog will continue in her memory and hopefully bring better news in the future.
The Bedfordshire Bat Group was formed in 1988 and is affiliated to the Bedfordshire Natural History Society and a partner group of the national organisation, The Bat Conservation Trust. The bat group works for bat conservation within Bedfordshire and Luton;carries out surveys of bats and maintains a database of bat records; works with people to provide information and raise awareness of bat conservation; and, when necessary, carries out bat care and rehabilitation
Monday, 16 September 2013
Wednesday, 4 September 2013
Wildlife Acoustics EM3
This March I was told by my MD (I am a bat consultant) that he was upgrading all of our equipment, so after much looking around, I came across the Wildlife Acoustic EM3 handheld detector. I had been aware of it, but hadn't given it much thought due to the price.
I had been using a Petterrson D240X with recorder for much of my work and although it is an excellent detector it can be cumbersome due to all the wires running to and from the detector.
The EM3 seem to fit the bill for what we wanted e.g. handheld, built in recorder (with several formats, I use WAV) and it had a screen which allows the sonogram to be displayed.
I have now had an EM3 for the whole of a bat season and have come to grips with using it. Hence this little review.
On first thoughts I didn't really like it to much!
It was quite large in the hand (although I have fairly large hands), it was complicated and not intuitive and it ate batteries (even though these are re-chargeable). The real time expansion (RTE) sounded odd compared to the D240X and the heterodyne mode although good was difficult to scan though the frequencies.
The build quality looked poor and it lacked a lanyard to secure it, when fumbling around in the dark, so it could be dropped.
However: -
I have come to love using this detector and really would be lost without it!
The sonogram screen although small is just excellent, allowing almost instant confirmation of the species your listening to (assuming it is not Myotis or other difficult species) and you can zoom into the call if you if you need to. You can toggle between a white background and dark background to save your night vision. Recorded without the need for other devices and loads of wires everywhere and instantly check the call on the screen .
Having now learnt how to set it up to my needs (check the Wildlife Acoustics website for tutorials) the detector has taken on a life of its own. I now listen in RTE as standard so that I don't miss any bat passes and don't have to fumble around with buttons on the wrong side of the detector. I have changed the trigger level of the detector so unwanted noise is not recorded and it saves the files in small snippets making sound analysis fast.
There are still problems with this detector, for instance changing the buttons to the left side would be a great help as I am right-handed, adding a lanyard to the case to prevent dropping it in the dark and installing a more sensitive microphone would all be good additions.
However with all that said, I really couldn't do without this bit of kit anymore!
I had been using a Petterrson D240X with recorder for much of my work and although it is an excellent detector it can be cumbersome due to all the wires running to and from the detector.
The EM3 seem to fit the bill for what we wanted e.g. handheld, built in recorder (with several formats, I use WAV) and it had a screen which allows the sonogram to be displayed.
I have now had an EM3 for the whole of a bat season and have come to grips with using it. Hence this little review.
On first thoughts I didn't really like it to much!
It was quite large in the hand (although I have fairly large hands), it was complicated and not intuitive and it ate batteries (even though these are re-chargeable). The real time expansion (RTE) sounded odd compared to the D240X and the heterodyne mode although good was difficult to scan though the frequencies.
The build quality looked poor and it lacked a lanyard to secure it, when fumbling around in the dark, so it could be dropped.
However: -
I have come to love using this detector and really would be lost without it!
The sonogram screen although small is just excellent, allowing almost instant confirmation of the species your listening to (assuming it is not Myotis or other difficult species) and you can zoom into the call if you if you need to. You can toggle between a white background and dark background to save your night vision. Recorded without the need for other devices and loads of wires everywhere and instantly check the call on the screen .
Having now learnt how to set it up to my needs (check the Wildlife Acoustics website for tutorials) the detector has taken on a life of its own. I now listen in RTE as standard so that I don't miss any bat passes and don't have to fumble around with buttons on the wrong side of the detector. I have changed the trigger level of the detector so unwanted noise is not recorded and it saves the files in small snippets making sound analysis fast.
There are still problems with this detector, for instance changing the buttons to the left side would be a great help as I am right-handed, adding a lanyard to the case to prevent dropping it in the dark and installing a more sensitive microphone would all be good additions.
However with all that said, I really couldn't do without this bit of kit anymore!
Swineshead Re-Visited
Swineshead revisited
Last week the guys headed back to Swineshead wood with the aim of catching and perhaps tagging one of the Myotis bats we heard earlier in the year.
We were joined by Daniel Hargreaves who stopped off on his way to Luton Airport for a flight at silly o’clock this morning.We set up two harp traps and lures and settled down to wait. We didn’t have to wait long before not one but three bats entered the first harp trap.
We caught a male Natterer’s and the first of four barbastelles in beautiful condition
But the third bag was the most exciting and indeed the most satisfactory in purely dramatic terms, for therein rested a male Nathusius. This is the first Nathusius we have had in the hand for twenty years. The only previous sighting was a single male who was found grounded and died soon after.
This bat had very large buccal glands as you can see in this photo and was in full breeding condition .
Swineshead is quite a way from the nearest large water bodies.Perhaps he was migrating in a quest for females.
One thing is sure, this really is an exceptional wood!.
Nathusius males sit in a suitable spot and call, often all night in the hope of attracting a female. You can see Daniel Hargreaves’ video of an advertising Nathusius on You Tue
We were joined by Daniel Hargreaves who stopped off on his way to Luton Airport for a flight at silly o’clock this morning.We set up two harp traps and lures and settled down to wait. We didn’t have to wait long before not one but three bats entered the first harp trap.
We caught a male Natterer’s and the first of four barbastelles in beautiful condition
But the third bag was the most exciting and indeed the most satisfactory in purely dramatic terms, for therein rested a male Nathusius. This is the first Nathusius we have had in the hand for twenty years. The only previous sighting was a single male who was found grounded and died soon after.
Nathusius pipistrelle Photo Jude Hirstwood
Nathusius pipistrelle. Photo Bob Cornes
Nathusius pipistrelle with prominent buccal gland. Photo Bob Cornes
Swineshead is quite a way from the nearest large water bodies.Perhaps he was migrating in a quest for females.
One thing is sure, this really is an exceptional wood!.
Nathusius males sit in a suitable spot and call, often all night in the hope of attracting a female. You can see Daniel Hargreaves’ video of an advertising Nathusius on You Tue
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)