Today is Bat Appreciation Day!
Did you know that nearly a third of all UK mammal species are bats?
Globally, around 40% of bat species are either Threatened, Near Threatened, or Data Deficient according to the IUCN. Here in Britain, out of 18 species (17 of which breed), 4 are Threatened, 2 Near Threatened, and 3 remain Data Deficient.
But there’s good news too! Thanks to legal protection, species like the Greater and Lesser Horseshoe bats are bouncing back. There’s also evidence of increasing populations of Common and Soprano Pipistrelles.
All UK bats are insectivores—many feast on midges and mosquitoes—making them top nocturnal predators and excellent indicators of environmental health.
Working with our ecologists at Keystone, we’re proud to support bat conservation work at Wichelstowe, where:
- We’ve designed and planted foraging corridors
- Created ‘bat hops’ and eco-passages over and under roads
- Developed rich foraging habitats including ponds, grasslands, orchards, and wetlands
- Installed roost features via veteranised trees and around 100 bat boxes on new buildings and established trees
11 bat species have been recorded at Wichelstowe so far, including: Common Pipistrelle, Soprano Pipistrelle, Serotine, Daubenton’s, Brown Long-eared, Natterer’s, Leisler’s, Noctule, Barbastelle, Lesser Horseshoe, and Greater Horseshoe.
There was however a big change for Wichelstowe’s bats last year with the demolition of the farm buildings and cottages at Southleaze farm. These were home to both Pipistrelle and Brown Long-eared bats, but the buildings had unfortunately been subject to extensive vandalism and had been set on fire a number of times. During last year we obtained a licence from Natural England and our ecologists made sure that there were no bats left in the buildings before they were demolished. We didn’t however leave the bats homeless and installed extra bat boxes on the trees adjacent to the cottages and started work on the bats new and improved home which we have been referring to as the ‘Bat Cave’. It is actually a large pipe which will be buried in the ground and has been designed specifically to provide secure roosting for crevice and void dwellers alike
We look forward to sharing some more photos when the Wichelstowe bat’s new home is complete.
