Bat Conservation Trust and Vincent Wildlife Trust are currently undertaking a National Barbastelle and Bechstein's survey to refine the understanding of the ecology of Barbastelle and Bechstein’s bats and has a number of objectives including refining our understanding on the edge of the species’ range and investigating occupancy within the known range (including any range shifts).
Barbastelle and Bechstein’s bat are woodland specialists that rely on semi-natural ancient woodland and as just 2.5% of the UK is covered in ancient woodland, the availability of suitable woodland roosting habitat is likely to be an important factor in limiting the size and distribution of these woodland specialist bat populations. As Warwickshire represents an area where there is little data for these species, they are currently identifying areas where we believe they are likely to be present.
Wolford Wood is one of the best areas of ancient semi-natural broadleaved woodland in Warwickshire and therefore they believe that surveying for these specific bats in the woodland would be hugely beneficial to their understanding of these bats in the center of England.
On the initial visit, Jack Hooker, a scientist for the trust, deployed 10 detectors in randomly selected areas of the woodland. The detectors were left for 5 days recording continually. After this time, Jack came back to collect the detectors, download and begin analysing the data.
Barbastelles are rare and distinctive species, medium sized with a pug-like face and large, wide ears. They are a vulnerable species in England and are known to roost in hollow tree trunks, behind loose bark on dead trees and in cavities behind joints of timber-framed buildings. They are fast and agile flyers, foraging over a wide area and often emerge early from daytime roosts to forage in the dark zone amongst trees. Their diet consists of small moths, flies and beetles.
Bechsteins bats are one of the rarest bat species, with a pink face and pale to reddish brown fur and a greyish underneath. The destruction of ancient mature forests along with intensive woodland management practices has had a direct impact with the decline of their numbers. Their habitat being mature deciduous woodland, roosting in woodpecker holes or behind loose bark and tree crevices. They forage up to 2km from the roost in the tree canopy and feed on insect groups like grasshoppers, moths and flies.
Jack will be back again soon to deploy more detectors, in different locations. This survey will take approximately 8 weeks to allow as much data to be captured.
The schedule looks a bit like this: bat recorders set up for 5 days, collected and data anaylsed over two weeks and then another set deployed in different locations for 5 days again.
We are looking forward to receiving any results they find and will most certainly share it for all to observe!
If you would like to read more about the Bat Conservation Trust click Here
All The Best,
The Wolford Wood Team