On a fine August evening a group of CREOS members gathered together to go in search of bats in the CREOS woodland. We were guided by a local bat ecologist, Cindy Blaney, who briefed us on the type of bats we might encounter and provided everyone with a bat monitoring device. These are small handheld electronic devices that can detect the echo signals that bats transmit and alert you to the nearby presence of a flying bat. The signal frequency can also help identify the bat species.
We set off from the Hanley car park around dusk, and very soon just inside the woodland we detected the presence of soprano pipistrelle bats and spotted them flitting about above us. Then further on, near the upper field, we detected a noctule bat, which is larger, but was harder to spot in the fading light. Once dark we had to rely solely on the detectors, but it was clear that bats are present in all parts of the CREOS area and around, particularly over the allotments. Finally we managed to spot a common pipistrelle flying low along the Greenway footpath in the lamplight.
For more information about bats, we recommend visiting the website of the Bat Conservation Trust, link here>>.
