It's been a fantastic evening for bats! It's only 8 degrees outside as I write this and there must be tons of insects about as it's one of the busiest nights for bats that I've had so far this Autumn. There have been at least two Serotines, Eptesicus serotinus constantly flying around the garden, a Common Noctule, Nyctalus noctula, which keeps coming and going and the Common Pipistrelle, Pipistrellus pipistrellus, which lives in the attic and has been hunting around the gables all evening. Naturally I got outside with the bat detector and made a few recordings:
Note the irregular rhythm to the pulses of the Serotine, very distinctive of this species.
To me the long ranging 'chip, chop' sound of the Common Noctule sounds very much like a horse trotting along a road, again very distinctive of the species.
Both Serotine and Noctule are large bats (for the UK) - both have wingspans over 30cm and when you get a view of either they can appear quite striking in size.
Just after sunset is the busiest time as the bats emerge to feed. Although I've noted activity of one degree or another throughout the night, things definitely get quieter after about 10pm.
Local and worldwide wildlife adventures. Drone cameraman to TV's Nigel Marven. Dedicated Nikon user. Follow me on Twitter @chardbirder and Instagram: www.instagram.com/chardherper/. All images on this Blog are copyright of the Owner/contributors and cannot be used without written permission. All views expressed are my own. Translation to other languages available at the end of the page.
No comments:
Post a Comment