Earth Notes: Bats Around our Home aka 16WW (2023)
Updated 2024-06-09 09:19 GMT.By Damon Hart-Davis
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2023-01-12: Winter Wakeups
It has been abnormally warm and is this evening (it is nominally ~9°C), so I checked for obvious bat activity crossing the Hogsmill on Villiers Road this evening ~16:50Z. I did not see any.
2023-01-31: Bat at 6 O'Clock
On my way to a meeting, at ~6pm (18:00Z) crossing the Hogsmill on Villiers Road on the downstream side, I noticed at least one bat active. The temperature was ~7°C. On my return at ~9pm I saw none on either side of the bridge. Sunset was 16:49Z.
2023-02-15: Hogsmill
On my way to a meeting, at ~6pm (18:07Z) crossing the Hogsmill on Villiers Road on the downstream side, I noticed at least two bats active. The temperature was probably ~10°C. On my return at ~10pm I saw at least one on the same side. Sunset was 17:16Z.
2023-02-20: Maybe
Maybe a bat downstream, once, ~18:40Z. ~10°C. Sunset was 17:25Z.
2023-02-20: Nada
No bat observed upstream at ~18:10Z, ~7°C.
2023-02-28: Nada
No bat observed upstream or downstream at ~18:21Z, ~7°C.
2023-03-04: More Nada
No bat observed downstream at ~19:46Z, ~6°C. No bat observed upstream at ~21:50Z, ~5°C.
2023-03-28: Nada Más Otra Vez
No bat observed either side at ~20:37Z, ~9°C.
There we a number of 'null' observations between the 4th and today, when it was clearly far too cold (well below 10°C) or far too late (eg much more than an hour after dusk); no surprises there.
2023-04-19: Bats!
Alison F saw two little egrets fly over 16WW yesterday evening.
9pm-ish (~20:10Z) there was at least one bat upstream on the Hogsmill at the Villiers Road bridge, and at least one downstream (town side) with a heron standing patiently in the water! ~8°C, sunset was 19:04Z.
2023-04-25: Bats!
10pm-ish (~20:50Z) there was at least one bat upstream on the Hogsmill at the Villiers Road bridge, and at least one downstream (town side). No heron this time. ~7°C, sunset was 19:14Z.
2023-04-26: Too Soon?
9pm-ish (~19:40Z) there were no bats visible at the Villiers Road bridge. ~9°C.
2023-05-03: Intermittent
9pm-ish (~20:01Z) there was one bat intermittently visible at the Villiers Road bridge upstream. ~9°C.
2023-05-04: Intermittent
Midnight-ish (~23:14Z) there was one bat intermittently visible at the Villiers Road bridge upstream; none downstream (town side). ~11°C.
2023-05-17: Three
~20:35Z two or three bats downstream (town side) on Villiers Road bridge over the Hogsmill, none obvious upstream. Lots of midges. ~12°C. Sunset 19:49Z.
2023-07-06: Too Soon?
~20:38Z no bats on Villiers Road bridge over the Hogsmill. Lots of midges. ~16°C. Sunset 20:19Z.
2023-07-07: Homies
~21:00Z a pip or two scouting low round the house, easily seen. ~21°C. Sunset 20:18Z.
2023-07-13: Lone
~21:10Z a pip upstream on the Villiers Road bridge over the Hogsmill. ~16°C. (Was in a hurry so did not look downstream.) Others seen later nearby while walking towards the centre of Kingston.
2023-07-30: Two
~21:19Z a pip upstream on the Villiers Road bridge over the Hogsmill, two visible intermittently downstream. ~16°C. Sunset 19:53Z.
2023-08-11: Two
maybe a pip upstream on the Villiers Road bridge over the Hogsmill, two visible intermittently downstream. ~16°C, humid.
2023-09-10: Cemetery
~19:07Z multiple bats (pips?) seen in the Bonner Hill Road Cemetery relatively low to the ground. ~22°C, humid. Sunset 18:28Z.
2023-09-18: Fairfield
~18:43Z: at least one bat seen hunting near the trees across the middle of the Fairfield. ~15°C. Sunset 18:10Z.
2023-10-25: Half
18:30Z maybe one pip downstream on the Villiers Road bridge over the Hogsmill, intermittently. No bat visible upstream. ~10°C. Sunset 16:48Z.
2023-11-08: Nowt
23:05Z no bats seen at the Villiers Road bridge over the Hogsmill. ~6°C.
References
- [beason2020temporal] Temporal Pass Plots: An intuitive method for visualising activity patterns of bats and other vocalising animals
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