Bats 🦇

Read about my 1st bat nature table here.

You might be able to read this blog post more easily here, also theres  more fun bat videos.

This is more of a nature table than a story nugget. I have a nursery roost of mostly Soprano Pipistrelle bats, underneath the roof slates of my house.

New life can be pretty precarious, things don’t always go to plan. This year I saw the youngest bat I’ve ever seen. I didn’t realise mama bats carry their new borns with them when they go out hunting. Because the babies are naked, so can’t regulate their temperature. When the babies have grown enough fluff they’re left together in a crèche, while their mamas hunt. If you’ve ever seen the speed bats fly at, imagine doing that carrying a baby, it’s crazy. 

So it’s not surprising that sometimes babies fall of their mamas. This tiny pink wiggler was lucky that I spotted it. I was sure it was going to be near death, but I was amazed to see it seemed full of beans.

Immediately I messaged the fabulous bat rescue, and whizzed the little one over. He was warmed up and fed. Later that day they returned to the roost. Their mothers know the sound and scent of their baby.

When first found a bat it trouble I had no idea what to do, so I googled. You have to put the bat in little box with air holes (obviously) . The bat needs something like a tea towel to hang onto and hide in. Also a small plastic lid with water in like a milk bottle lid. And close the lid, bats can squeeze through tiny gaps.

Did you know in the UK we have a national bat helpline in the UK? It’s run by The Bat Conservative Trust. When I rang I spoke to a lovely lady, I imagined a Ms Marple of the bat world. Obviously she wasn’t hanging upside down, but I think it would be fun if she was!

 

Anyway she put me in contact with a local rescue who on paper (Google maps) are only about 20mins away. In real life down our Devon lanes, it’s a bit different. Driving down single track lanes in the dark is something else😂.

✨I can’t say enough how brilliant the bat rescuers are, they have so much knowledge & dedication. I am so lucky to have them so close by. Also whenever I find a bat it’s usually at antisocial human hours & they’ve always very happy for me to take the bats over.

The most frequently I’ve found the toddler age bat. Their mothers have left them to go hunting and like toddlers they don’t sit still. At this age they can’t fly but they can crawl and climb. I think they squeeze through the gaps in the beams in the ceiling into the inside of the house. I’ve found them on the stairs and a couple of times the dog beds.

This is me only noticing a bat on the dog bed, when it's pretty late at night. 

This is the baby bat I found on the stairs.

This is an illustration of the bat on the stairs, it was lucky not to have been stood on!

I’ve also found teenage bats who were supposed to be hibernating. But for some reason stayed behind & awake. They were boys so that could be why😂but also sadly climate change is confusing their internal systems. I think one of the mostly fabulous and gross things I’ve seen is the way these little bats scoffed a meal worm.

These worms are longer than the size of their heads. Meal worms aren’t their natural food, so these bats had never eaten them before. They’re a practical food to feed to rescue bats, the resuce can’t go around catching 1000 of midges & moths every night for each bat . The little bats gleefully chomped through these poor worms with their little sharp teeth pink mouths.

It was a real relief to see these bats eat because that meant they would thrive and grow. The rescue kept and fed these greedy worm chompers all through the winter . In the spring they returned and released them. Bigger, stronger and hopefully wiser little bats.

I love to see the bats they’re amazing creatures, but I always hope not to see them inside.

Have you had any experiences with bats?🦇🦇