Earth Notes: Bats Around our Home aka 16WW (2022)
Updated 2022-07-28 15:49 GMT.By Damon Hart-Davis.
2022-03-29: Lone Bat
Lone bat at Villiers Road Hogsmill bridge at 20:45Z, possibly pip, ~8°C.
2022-06-15: Bat on the Hogsmill!
Warm night (has been high 20s°C during the day, probably still low 20s), a little after 10pm BST crossing the Hogsmill on Villiers Road, immediately saw a busy bat (maybe a pip) on the downstream side of the bridge, and plenty of insects.
2022-06-22: Butterflies
Not bats, but today in the Bonnor Hill Road Cemetery: crickets; ringlet (at least three eyelets visible on each wing), marbled white and (relatively-speaking to the others, not) large skipper butterflies; chiffchaff.
2022-06-25: Any Bats?
19:39Z: at study window Pettersson detector at 45kHz het on speaker. (Sunset 20:22Z, temperature ~16°C, fairly overcast, has just rained.) I can see insects about...
Someone has a fire lit — I smell smoke — by ~20:30Z, which may deter bats...
20:43Z heard bat, loud! Maybe a solo common pip. 21:00Z window closed.
2022-07-03: Overcast
Warm but overcast today. In the cemetery, many meadow brown and marbled white butterflies, the odd cricket and a grasshopper that hopped in front of me on an asphalt path!
20:22Z: at study window Pettersson detector at 45kHz het on speaker. (Sunset 20:20Z, temperature ~18°C, a little cloud.) Insects are about, including the flying one that just bounced from my screen to my keyboard...
No bat heard. 21:00Z window closed.
2022-07-09: Back
Warm today: strong sunshine in the afternoon, plenty of insects about.
~20:40Z: intermittently on Pettersson detector at study window at 45kHz het on speaker. (Sunset 20:17Z, temperature ~22°C, hazy.)
21:02Z bat heard when detector turned on (~4th attempt of a few minutes). 21:10Z window closed.
2022-07-14: Bat Rescue Release
I just witnessed a (juvenile soprano pipistrelle) release near 16WW at sunset (~20:13Z).
She had flown into someone's house nearby and not left for several days. So she was rescued and fed for about six days (weight up from ~3.5g to 4.5g).
On release after very loud chattering (audible, especially to my 16yo daughter!) right up to 55khz, she circled a few times to get bearings, then found an insect-rich patch of airspace for a snack.
She should be able to find her way back to her roost. With luck she may live something like 15 years.
A powerful (ultra)sonic blast from young Pipistrellus pygmaeus warming up in hand ready to be released!
2022-07-26: Bats Berserkers!
Walking back fromt he Spring Grove ~20:50Z, downstream side of Hogsmill bridge at Villiers had about 10 bats wheeling and feeding. Maybe two on the upstream side. Temperature ~17°C, with the day topping out at an overcast ~22°C I think.
The echolocation was loud enough even below ultrasonic to be picked up a little when recording video on my phone.
2022-07-27: Bats Berserkers (Cont)!
This evening with AF and MW saw again 10 to 20 (soprano) pips downstream of the bridge and two or three immediately upstream. Also plenty further along Hogsmill Lane, starting with a smitten pair, wheeling together. Maybe a common pip or two. No Daubenton's.
See AF's Flir E60 IR (infrared) videos of downstream of the bridge:
