Going Bats at Oaken Clough 17/5/10

Rachael Maskill from the South Lancashire Bat Group was our speaker for the evening. After a small glitch with her arrival time and initial problems with the projector, it all turned out to be a really good evening (timewise)! Rachael gave us lots of general information about the types of bats and their behaviours, particularly those found in Lancashire. Most of the group had heard of and had experience of Pipestrelles, the Long Eared Bat, Horseshoe bat, Daubenton and the Noctule. Fascinating information, including facts about echo location, the fact that they are a protected species and only give birth to one baby bat a year, their roosting habits, diet and interaction with man. Rachel had even brought a baby bat along with her - the first time some of us had seen a real bat up close and personal! Once the first half of the programme was over, we had some refreshments and then went to have a look at the slides and video clips which she had brought. It was fascinating to see the flight path of some of the bats she had mentioned and to know they could be identified accurately by this and also the record of their echo location call. It was fast approaching dusk and we decided to go outside, armed with a bat detector unit which Rachael had brought to do some detecting and we were successful! It was definitely something which could become addictive! One pipistrelle seemed to enjoy putting on a show for us flying quite close to us overhead. Rachael pointed out that because we werestanding in a crowd we gave off heat which attracted small insects which in turn, attracted the bats who fancied a ready made meal. It was a lovely evening to stand outside to observe and interact with nature and we did appreciate all the preparation which Rachael had done to provide us with a splendid interactive programme. News Items on Bats A technical hitch! Nevertheless,the audience wait patiently. The resting bat is passed around. Getting the shot to use in the inset! An excursion outside, as the bats of Oaken Clough paid a visit and were caught on MP3! [see below] With the projector working we can now see the bat species. Some bat species. Rachael explains the flight paths and the different frequencies used by bats. Above: Spectral analysis of bat clicks. Left: Audible frequencies after the detector has been used. As of 6/8/12 ,the MTVCA now has bat detection equipment which was tested the very first time the committe had access to it. The Pipestrelles showed up right on cue for a test! How to build your own bat detector [5Mb .zip] Baton Bat detector