Lia Gilmour shows the site for the harp trap Photo Bob Cornes
Photo Bob Cornes
Brown long eared bat - Photo by Bob Cornes
Brown long eared bat Photo Lia Gilmour
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, 4 June 2012
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.
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
Looking for Bechsteins – Day Two
We watched with trepidation as the weather forecast got gloomier and gloomier as the day went on. Bob and Lia went off to have a look at wood 2 and found a couple of good mist netting spots.
At 8pm we gathered to take the gentle stroll into the wood – and once again were all too aware of just how much equipment we were lugging.
We set up base camp and while the harp traps were being put up there were numbers of soprano pipistrelles flying overhead. While waiting for the 11pm start time two of the groups walked round the paths with a bat detector. They met up with a group of lads who were camping in the wood. ( Later that night as we were collecting remote detectors they were met again – searching for their tent which they couldn’t find in the dark).
Lia was keen for us to catch a Natterer’s and we were able to do so for her, which made her a very happy bunny as this picture shows.
This was the first time we had ever visited this wood and we were delighted by the fact we caught four Daubenton’s, two in the mist nets and two in the harp trap. This included a very pregnant female who was quickly released and this gentleman who was heavier than the pregnant female was.
Daubenton’s have huge feet which they use to pick insects off the surface of the water. If you look closely you can see the hairs on the feet that help catch their prey.
Another useful diagnostic feature is the ring of bare skin around the eye.
We also caught a couple of soprano pipistrelles who pulled a trick beloved of pipistrelles – if in doubt play dead. We spent a considerable time coaxing them back into life but they did finally fly off just as we were ready to go home.
Sadly no Bechstein’s tonight, but we were delighted to find those Daubenton’s as we don’t often get them in woods and we think that there is a roost nearby . Bob and Lia saw some promising holes on the morning survey. This is a wood we shall be returning to. Who knows we might even catch a Bechstein’s. (without a harp trap or lure, but if you are going to dream, dream big)
The Sherpas take a break. Photo Jude Hirstwood
We set up base camp and while the harp traps were being put up there were numbers of soprano pipistrelles flying overhead. While waiting for the 11pm start time two of the groups walked round the paths with a bat detector. They met up with a group of lads who were camping in the wood. ( Later that night as we were collecting remote detectors they were met again – searching for their tent which they couldn’t find in the dark).
Photo Jude Hirstwood
Photo Bob Cornes
This was the first time we had ever visited this wood and we were delighted by the fact we caught four Daubenton’s, two in the mist nets and two in the harp trap. This included a very pregnant female who was quickly released and this gentleman who was heavier than the pregnant female was.
Photo Lia Gilmour
Photo Lia Gilmour
Another useful diagnostic feature is the ring of bare skin around the eye.
We also caught a couple of soprano pipistrelles who pulled a trick beloved of pipistrelles – if in doubt play dead. We spent a considerable time coaxing them back into life but they did finally fly off just as we were ready to go home.
Sadly no Bechstein’s tonight, but we were delighted to find those Daubenton’s as we don’t often get them in woods and we think that there is a roost nearby . Bob and Lia saw some promising holes on the morning survey. This is a wood we shall be returning to. Who knows we might even catch a Bechstein’s. (without a harp trap or lure, but if you are going to dream, dream big)
Looking for Bechstein’s Day One
Lia Gilmour joined us yesterday with an impressive pile of equipment. She and Bob went out to look for suitable trapping sites in Kings Wood Houghton Conquest. The wood was looking particularly fine
While we were there we found a beautiful Light Emperor moth
As night fell, a small group of people staggered into the wood carrying equipment and set up harp traps , lures and mist nets, then settled down to wait
Bill looks like he is bored to death here, but he is daydreaming about owning a Griffin one day.
Lia took charge of the harp trap
This brown long eared bat was a gentle soul
We also caught this male Noctule who looks very gentle but was a feisty gentleman who really didn’t approve of being caught and was very vocal in his complaints.
No Bechstein’s though – better luck next time.
On examining the recordings we made we can confirm the presence of barbastelle in this wood.
Photo Bob Cornes
While we were there we found a beautiful Light Emperor moth
As night fell, a small group of people staggered into the wood carrying equipment and set up harp traps , lures and mist nets, then settled down to wait
Photo Bob Cornes
Bill looks like he is bored to death here, but he is daydreaming about owning a Griffin one day.
Photo Bob Corrnes
Brown long eared bat Photo Bob Cornes
Lia took charge of the harp trap
This brown long eared bat was a gentle soul
Photo Bob Cornes Noctule
No Bechstein’s though – better luck next time.
On examining the recordings we made we can confirm the presence of barbastelle in this wood.
Wednesday, 23 May 2012
Serotine Roost
Last night fourteen of us headed over to visit the serotine roost. The house owners warned us that they had only seen one bat the night before, so we were resigned not to see many bats.
We used two long handled nets ( serotines are well known for liking roofs with a high apex) and the team took it in turns to get aching arms.
Serotines are sneaky beasts and are very skilled at eluding capture. After we caught the first bat, we had to swap nets and they took this split second opportunity to sneak a couple of bats out. They did this every time and after an hour we had caught six bats but nine had escaped and flew victory circuits round the garden before swooping off along a nearby hedgerow.
This roost has been part of a Ph.D. project ( See 2011-10-serotine ringing) and any bats we caught were ringed and had DNA samples taken.We returned to the roost in order to check whether any of the ringed bats had returned. Three of them had. We also took the opportunity to check the rings had not caused any wing damage. There was no sign of any, nor of any scarring left from the wing punches.
In all nine bats escaped and we caught six.
They were all female and three of them had been ringed previously. One was ringed as a juvenile last year. All the bats were in fine condition, though we did notice that they were lighter than last year , suggesting that this bad weather has had an effect. We also checked wing length. We could detect no sign of pregnancy in any of the bats. In difficult conditions bats can slow down fetal development and this may be what happened.
For many of those present, this was the first time they had seen serotines in the hand, and as a result there were a lot of very happy faces to be seen
We also took the opportunity of taking some photos. This was not always easy as some of the bats were very squirmy, but we did get some good photos eventually
This bat on the other hand was more media friendly and sat still while her photo was taken.
Photo Jude Hirstwood
Photo Jude HIrstwood
This roost has been part of a Ph.D. project ( See 2011-10-serotine ringing) and any bats we caught were ringed and had DNA samples taken.We returned to the roost in order to check whether any of the ringed bats had returned. Three of them had. We also took the opportunity to check the rings had not caused any wing damage. There was no sign of any, nor of any scarring left from the wing punches.
Aidan checking wing length Photo Jude Hirstwood
They were all female and three of them had been ringed previously. One was ringed as a juvenile last year. All the bats were in fine condition, though we did notice that they were lighter than last year , suggesting that this bad weather has had an effect. We also checked wing length. We could detect no sign of pregnancy in any of the bats. In difficult conditions bats can slow down fetal development and this may be what happened.
A delighted Aidan Photo Jude Hirstwood
Photo Jude Hirstwood
Photo Jude Hirstwood
Photo Jude Hirstwood
Friday, 11 May 2012
Looking for Bechsteins
Photo of Bechstein's bat by Derek Smith, Surrrey Bat Group
We don’t get them in Bedfordshire.
Now Lia Gilmour is doing an MSc to see whether the data collected by this project can be used too predict Bechstein distribution.
We will be working with her to see if we can find them in some woods in Bedfordshire. We get a loan of a harp trap and an Autobat so we can follow the protocol devised by The Bat Conservation Trust.
We are lucky that some members of the North Bucks group are going to help us out.
We are hoping to do surveys in June. So keep your fingers crossed that the weather will improve, It is unlikely that we will find Bechstein’s but we may find other interesting species and it is well worth the try.
Monday, 7 May 2012
Bat Box Checks
The second of the box checks were undertaken yesterday.
We found nothing in March and were not expecting much today as it is still quite early in the season for bats to be using boxes. And we were right. The team checked all fifty boxes and no bats were in – though a number of boxes did have bird’s nests in them, and some had bat droppings. This is not unusual and we hope the bats will move in once the birds have raised their broods. Some bat box projects put up bird boxes as well to leave the bat boxes free for bats. In Wytham Wood in Oxford, the reverse happens and bats move into the bird boxes, When we used to check boxes at Whipsnade they were always occupied by blue tits never by bats
We found nothing in March and were not expecting much today as it is still quite early in the season for bats to be using boxes. And we were right. The team checked all fifty boxes and no bats were in – though a number of boxes did have bird’s nests in them, and some had bat droppings. This is not unusual and we hope the bats will move in once the birds have raised their broods. Some bat box projects put up bird boxes as well to leave the bat boxes free for bats. In Wytham Wood in Oxford, the reverse happens and bats move into the bird boxes, When we used to check boxes at Whipsnade they were always occupied by blue tits never by bats
Tuesday, 24 April 2012
1st Woodland Survey of the year
Morning all,
I will be undertaking the first of the woodland surveys tomorrow evening (assuming the rains stops). We will be looking at a small number of woodlands in Luton were no records are currently held.
Most of these run in a line from Round Green to the Hertfordshire border, at teh moment I have permission to mist net and look at at least three woods. I am hoping to gain access to other woods running along the boundary.
Martin
I will be undertaking the first of the woodland surveys tomorrow evening (assuming the rains stops). We will be looking at a small number of woodlands in Luton were no records are currently held.
Most of these run in a line from Round Green to the Hertfordshire border, at teh moment I have permission to mist net and look at at least three woods. I am hoping to gain access to other woods running along the boundary.
Martin
National Planning Policy Framework and BCT's new guidelines
Hi all,
National Planning Policy Framework:
On the 27th of March 2012 the Government released the new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). This document has streamlined the planning policies that were implemented by the local authorities in a planning context.
Planning Policy Statement 9 (Biodiversity) is no longer valid, however circular 06/05 is to be used in conjunction with NPPF.
There were concerns from the nature conservation movement when the draft of the NPPF was published, the focus was on sustainable development, however there was no definition of what this was!!
In the NPPF which is now in force this has been revised somewhat compared with the draft, to include a definition of sustainable development.
So why was there so much concern?
Put simply the EU habitats directive and bird directive had been mostly ignored. After a lot of lobbing from the major nature organisations such as BCT, the Wildlife Trusts, RSPB and National Trust amendments were made.
Most importantly were EU protected species are concerned there is no presumption in favour of sustainable development. As in the previous planning polices, full and up to date information concerning the species should be available.
What this means in practise we are yet to find out, but the interpretation should be that full surveys for protected species should have been undertaken before planning is granted.
New BCT Survey Guidelines:
At roughly the same time the new 2nd edition of the BCT survey guidelines have been released. These are now much more focused on the commercial ecology industry.
Clarification of some of the minor issues from the previous 1st edition have been made clearer e.g. the consultant is to use expert judgement and the guidelines to make decisions.
Another issue was the de-facto two dusk and one dawn survey, the guidance now says that if a dusk/dawn is undertaken in the same 24hr period that is classed as one survey.
I hazard a guess that this will cause further issues as no definition of a 24hr period is given, common sense would say that this should be a 24hr rotation of the clock, however I can see that certain people will interpret this differently.
Overall the guidance should clear up minor issues from the 1st edition and make the consultants job easier.
Martin
National Planning Policy Framework:
On the 27th of March 2012 the Government released the new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). This document has streamlined the planning policies that were implemented by the local authorities in a planning context.
Planning Policy Statement 9 (Biodiversity) is no longer valid, however circular 06/05 is to be used in conjunction with NPPF.
There were concerns from the nature conservation movement when the draft of the NPPF was published, the focus was on sustainable development, however there was no definition of what this was!!
In the NPPF which is now in force this has been revised somewhat compared with the draft, to include a definition of sustainable development.
So why was there so much concern?
Put simply the EU habitats directive and bird directive had been mostly ignored. After a lot of lobbing from the major nature organisations such as BCT, the Wildlife Trusts, RSPB and National Trust amendments were made.
Most importantly were EU protected species are concerned there is no presumption in favour of sustainable development. As in the previous planning polices, full and up to date information concerning the species should be available.
What this means in practise we are yet to find out, but the interpretation should be that full surveys for protected species should have been undertaken before planning is granted.
New BCT Survey Guidelines:
At roughly the same time the new 2nd edition of the BCT survey guidelines have been released. These are now much more focused on the commercial ecology industry.
Clarification of some of the minor issues from the previous 1st edition have been made clearer e.g. the consultant is to use expert judgement and the guidelines to make decisions.
Another issue was the de-facto two dusk and one dawn survey, the guidance now says that if a dusk/dawn is undertaken in the same 24hr period that is classed as one survey.
I hazard a guess that this will cause further issues as no definition of a 24hr period is given, common sense would say that this should be a 24hr rotation of the clock, however I can see that certain people will interpret this differently.
Overall the guidance should clear up minor issues from the 1st edition and make the consultants job easier.
Martin
Monday, 16 April 2012
East of England Bat Conference
Hi all,
Saturday saw the second East of England regional bat conference.
There were some very good talks and the chance for some networking.
Saturday saw the second East of England regional bat conference.
There were some very good talks and the chance for some networking.
Sunday, 1 April 2012
Season Begins
Morning all
The bat season offically starts today, with the first survey kicking off tomorrow evening at Stockgrove CP.
Athough bats have and will be about the temperatures are not looking to good, usually a temperture of 5oC or above means there will be plenty of bat activity, however the days of late have been great but night-time temperatures have been low, with tonights low expected to be 1oC.
This means that the invertebrates that bats prey on are unlikely to be about and therefore bat activity will be low.
Hopefully we will hear the usual species, and it gives us a chance to 'get our ear' back in.
Martin
The bat season offically starts today, with the first survey kicking off tomorrow evening at Stockgrove CP.
Athough bats have and will be about the temperatures are not looking to good, usually a temperture of 5oC or above means there will be plenty of bat activity, however the days of late have been great but night-time temperatures have been low, with tonights low expected to be 1oC.
This means that the invertebrates that bats prey on are unlikely to be about and therefore bat activity will be low.
Hopefully we will hear the usual species, and it gives us a chance to 'get our ear' back in.
Martin
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