We have some resident bats here, they came out of hibernation a few weeks ago and can now be seen ‘zipping’ around the house and barns at dusk. They are Pipistrelle (Soprano) bats (we think!) and we currently have a number nesting in our roof at the main house. – We are actually really happy with this, but we also want to provide more space for them, so we have added two bat boxes to the side of the barn for them to colonise as their numbers grow – we hope.
Some more info about Pipistrelle bats, for those of you who don’t know: The common pipistrelle is around 3.5cm long and can fit into a matchbox! A single bat can eat 3,000 insects a night. They are protected in the UK under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981, but they are sadly in decline, so we are pleased to do anything we can to help the little critters.
On balmy summer evenings, we do take the bat detector out and if you are staying with us, you are welcome to come and join us around the campfire to watch and listen, to the bats as they speed around the land munching on all those pesky midges.
Just so you know, the bat detector is a device that converts their echolocation calls into a sound that we can actually hear – and also use to identify them. It’s quite nerdy, but we love it!