Bats

[plocket]

We've just spent a lovely 20 minutes or so watching the local Pipestrel bats with LP, from the spare bedroom window. I think they nest in a huge tree nearby and we get a wonderful view of them as they start coming out at sundown, because they come so close to the house. LP was fascinated, and soon noticed that their wing shape was very different to that of a bird, as was the style in which they fly.

Anyone else got bats nearby?

[sweetleaf]

Yes I do, they come very close to me at dusk on the lottie, and sometimes I see them over my garden, they always come from the right, but I dont know where they roost, they have to eat their weight in insects every night to survive dont they?
I love them, they never bother me, even if they come close, their Radar is excellent and they can turn on a ha`penny

[Sleepy]

I get loads

I got a bat detector last spring, and using it makes you aware that there are far more bats around than you realise

[sweetleaf]

How does a bat detector work ?

[Sleepy]

It picks up the noises that a bat makes, and divides the frequency to a range that is audible to humans, and relays the noise through a speaker.

You can then hear the bats coming

[plocket]

That sounds like a cool gadget Sleepy, although it does make me think of Batman gadgets rather than serious equipment for Joe Public ;D

I love bats and am thrilled that we have them nearby, and I want LP to feel the same way. She certainly seemed excited every time we spotted one, and thought it was hysterical when we said that they flew around with their mouths open so they could catch insects. I didn't realise they needed to eat their body-weight each night though - WOW!!!

[sweetleaf]

What does it sound like sleepy?

[Sleepy]

Weird clicking noises that get louder at the bat gets nearer.

Here's the toy:



The coffee mug is there to give you an idea of scale

[sweetleaf]

Looks like a wicked peice of kit Sleepy, I take it there are microphones too? I would love to hear them, but Im afraid that would be one gadget too far, as far as OH is concerned !

[Sleepy]

It cost about £80.

The microphone is at the top. Thats the whole kit. It's powered by a PP3 battery.

The only controls are a volume/on/off knob, and a frequency dial.

It comes with a table listing the different frequencies of different bats. Just just dial the one you want. |The most common setting is 55 (kilohertz if I remember correctly).

[Sleepy]

www.magenta2000.co.uk/kits/bat-detector-mk3.htm

[sweetleaf]

eerm, perhaps one day youll let me listen to yours then Sleepy, I dont think I could get the cost past the committee!

[Sleepy]

Oh yes, it detects rats and bicycle inner tube leaks too ;D

[Sleepy]

sweetleaf said:

eerm, perhaps one day youll let me listen to yours then Sleepy, I dont think I could get the cost past the committee!

Summer BBQ Sweetie - if not before

[sweetleaf]

You should bring it to Sutton Park, its full of bats, owls.... and "other" night life

[plocket]

That's a great gadget but I think OH would reel in horror at the price! If it picks up high frequency bat squeeks would it also pick up noises like dog whistles?

[Sleepy]

Maybe. Do you have a problem in your area with the indiscriminate and excessive use of dog whistles in your area then P?

[plocket]

I don't think so! I was just wondering whether it would be useful for anything else! ;D

[The witch]

I haven't seen any of our local bats just yet - they swoop over the pond catching mozzies I expect

I don't think they are Pipistrels I see as they are too large


www.bio.bris.ac.uk/research/bats/britishbats/

www.first-nature.com/bats/

[madonplants]

We have a few bats as well, not sure where they roost though! They are a great sight to see, especially when you know the insect population will have gone down in the process!
I remember when I was on my RSPCA weekend, as a teenager, and we got taken into a cave to see what was in there!! A few girls stayed outside, as they knew what we were going in their to see! They missed a great sight. I really wish we could have gone back at dusk to see them all come out, but we had a rather tight schedule. We went to see badgers instead, if I remember correctly!

Keith

[The witch]

Saw a bat flying around the garden last night

[debbiem]

Terrible though when they fly in through the window and 'crash land'. We took an injured one to a 'bat lady' who lived nearby who cared for injured bats but it didn't make it.

[The witch]

Do they fly into your house often Mrs. B? We had a bat fly in through a door once, OH caught it using his landing net but daughter wouldn't help catch it until she had donned a hat!!

[Sleepy]

The said:

Do they fly into your house often Mrs. B? We had a bat fly in through a door once, OH caught it using his landing net but daughter wouldn't help catch it until she had donned a hat!!

Must be properly dressed to greet a bat, eh? Nowt as queer as women

[The witch]

admin said:

The said:

Do they fly into your house often Mrs. B? We had a bat fly in through a door once, OH caught it using his landing net but daughter wouldn't help catch it until she had donned a hat!!

Must be properly dressed to greet a bat, eh? Nowt as queer as women

She'd heard the old wives tale about bats getting tangled up in hair Sleepy. ;D