John Adams Roost

For over twenty two years the Bat Group has been monitoring a Common pipistrelle roost, which is believed to be a pre-maternity roost. We have in the past hand netted most years and these have always been females. On the 17th we found there to be a male and not only that but his Buccal galnds were enlarged. We are hoping to hand nett later this week to find out more.

Photos Jude Hirstwood

Martin

Kings Wood Survey

Wednesday the 4th May saw the group head into the NNR of Kings Wood.

A mist nett was put up and the bat opposite was netted.

It would seem to be a Brandts bat Myotis brandtii, Bob managed to get a close up of the teeth (see below). There is clearly a protocone or cingulum cusp on premolar (p4) this is roughly the same size as of the smaller premolar (p3).

However every UK bat worker knows just how hard it is to ID brandts, whiskered and now of course alcathoe bats. If you think we have the ID wrong post a comment.

No barbastelles Barbastella barbastellus were heard, which is unusal as the wood is well known for them.

The next woodland survey will be on the 23rd May (to be confirmed) details will follow soon after.

Martin

Slaughters Wood Results

Well,


Eight members of the group turned up at the woodland last Friday. 14 bats in total were netted 8 of which were male common pipistrelles the other 6 escaped the net before they could be sexed.

A survey at Kings Wood will be taking place tonight and I will get the results up once I have them.

Martin

May is here

Well,

May is pretty much round the corner now and the bat season proper is about to kick off, 29th April sees the first of the seasons woodland surveys in Luton. Its an unknown to the bat group but has promise, the guides (owners of the woodland) have given permission to mist net and do detector surveys.

I'll bring an update to you when the survey is complete.

M

Bat Season Finally Begins

Just a quick reminder that the bat season offically starts on Monday the 4th April, the first regular survey of the season will be taking place at Stockgrove CP meeting in the usually place at 7.15pm. Martin

Danny Fellman has been busy in the north of the county. Here he has put up a bat box of my design to see if any other species will use it. Its alongside a Kent box and wedge box for comparison. Keep watching this space for details on a scientific bat box project which the group hopes to start this season. We have secured the funding and Bob, Simon and others are looking around the woodland today to finalise the potential locations.

Hib's Surveys Feb

Hi

A total of 96 bats across the sites this Feb, only two sites had no bats

Hibernation Surveys (Jan)

Total count for the weekend was a 147 bats across all sites. This is the second highest count we have had sve for last Jan.

Notable points: A total of 25 Barbastelles across the sites, a record 22 BLE bats, only two sites had no bats at all. Daub's were down and also the number of peecocks and hearld moths.

Martin

Hibernation Results

Hi,

Well over the weekend we visited 15 hibernation sites across Bedfordshire, Saturday saw Danny, Jonathan, Bob, Chris and Martin visit four sites, with a total of 76 bats, with 17 Barbestelles in one, which nearly equalled last years 20.

Sunday saw Bob, Jonathan and Aidan visit the remaining sites and have 42 bats in total, with a new record for the artificial site built over 20 years ago, 5 BLE bats.

For the first time, the number of bats found on the December survey has exceeded 100. We found 118 bats over the weekend:

59 Natterer's
23 Daubenton's
17 Brown Long-Eareds
17 Barbastelles
1 Common Pip
1 unidentified

Thanks goes to those which helped out over the weekend.

Martin

Kent Bat Box update

Hi,

Danny at Priory Park has been experimenting with the Kent Bat box (as reported earlier), he has now been playing with the design of the box and added a further rear chamber. The idea is to see if one: the bats are only using the chamber nearest the tree and Two: to help stop woodpeckers making holes in the first and second chamber. The addition of a third chamber may help stop the woody's getting into at least one chamber therefore making the box use-able.

The pictures right, shows the original box on the left and the new super box on the right

He has also added a tin plate over the first chamber to protect it from the woody's.

When bats are using the boxes again, I'll update everyone.

It is also the first of the hibernation checks this weekend, I'll be leading on Saturday and Bob will be leading on Sunday, I'll report the findings here next week, but if last winters results are anything to go by, I'm expecting good numbers in our largest hibernation site, last year when the weather turned we had 20+ Barbastelles, our best count.

Martin