The beginning of the work to replace the leaking lead on the south aisle roof came a stage closer a few weeks ago with the completion of a survey of the bat population in the church. Before work could commence the degree of bat activity needed to be established so that we can ensure that they are not disturbed.
So on a beautifully warm and still night, a relay of volunteers from the PCC assisted Parker Associates in making their survey. While the professionals were indoors probing every nook and cranny with their infra-red search lights, a volunteer sat outside with a bat detector recording any bats that flew in and out.
Sitting in the quiet of the evening watching the dusk gather and listening to the birds settle down before the bats began to emerge was a truly tranquil experience, while on the dawn stint it was the crescendo of the dawn chorus which was the most memorable.
In fact there were not enough bats to constitute a roost and so there should be no problems in removing the roof next spring and summer. However there were several varieties. As well as the relatively common pipistrelles, soprano pipistrelles and a brown long-eared bat, the call of the much more unusual barbastelle variety was recorded.
We would like to thank Parker Associates for their painstaking work and also for allowing us to help with the work and explaining so carefully what we had to do.
Susanna Wade Martins
Editors note:
After reading the piece about bats, I decided to look them up to see if we had just the run of the mill types or anything special. Judge for yourself......
Common pipistrelles are the smallest and most common bats in the UK. The maximum recorded life span is 16 years and they weigh around 3-8grams, about ¼ ounce with a wingspan of 19-25cms. They hunt small moths, gnats and other small insects. A single pipistrelle may consume up to 3000 insects in one night.
They have dark red/brown fur on their backs and yellow/brown undersides. The ears, nose and wing membranes are black/brown.
The soprano pipistrelle is actually a separate species to the common one and only told apart reliably by its echolocation call which is on 55kHz rather than 45kHz.
Brown long-eared bats have strikingly long ears which are three quarters the length of their head and body. When resting the ears are folded and held backwards. Their maximum recorded life span is 30 years and they weigh 5-12grams with a wingspan of 24-28cms. They too feed on moths but pluck caterpillars, spiders and other prey off leaves and twigs.
The fur is buff-brown and they have a pink-brown face. The ears and wing membranes are a light grey-brown. They are the second most common species of bat in Britain.
The barbastelle bat numbers are declining possibly because their prey are affected by insecticides. The maximum recorded life span is 23 years and they weigh around 6-13 grams with a wingspan of 26-29cms (almost 12 inches). They feed on small moths, flies and beetles but having only small weak teeth, they are unable to bite through the shells of large beetles. They are fast, skilful hunters.
They have long silky dark brown fur which is white tipped, giving a frosted appearance with dark grey undersides. The face, ears and wing membranes are dark grey brown. They are classified as Vulnerable by 2000 IUCN Red List. International Union for Conservation of Nature - check their website for more details of endangered species.
