The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Smallholding => Wildlife => Topic started by: ZaktheLad on April 24, 2014, 11:56:29 am
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Does anyone know if a bat will live on its own or do they always live in colonies? We have a bat that flies around our smallholding every night (I am sure it lives in the old cow shed) but I have never noticed more than the one. It has been around for several years now. I am not sure of what type of bat it is but I do love watching it at dusk and in the height of summer it seems to swoop right down to get a good look at us. I just feel a bit concerned that it might be lonely on its own ::)
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How do you know its the same bat? I am sure there must be others and they are probably just taking it in turns to venture out.
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I thought if there was more than one they would fly around at the same time! ;D
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How do you know its the same bat? I am sure there must be others and they are probably just taking it in turns to venture out.
:roflanim: :roflanim:
We have bats which fly around at ours at dusk. I do tend to see only one at a time now I come to think of it. I think you would see a lot as they leave their roost and come back to it, but unless you have a big concentration of, say, moths in one place, they are likely to spread out. Ours don't hibernate in our buildings or the hollow tree, or even roost here as far as I know, but they do hunt here. :thumbsup:
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That's put my mind at rest that mine might not be lonely then! ::) :roflanim:
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The bats that fly low and are of a size so that you have to look twice to make sure it's not a swallow, are usually pipistrelles.
You tell them from the swallows by their fluttery flight - and that they carry on flying long after any self-respecting swallow would be in bed ;)
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We have a nursery roost with two kinds of bat in the farmhouse roof and do a count for the National Bat Monitoring Programme twice a year. Pipistrelles are those you normally see at dusk and will leave the roost over the space of about half-an-hour. They are long-lived and tend to have their favourite "patrol" area - one will circle the pond, one fly above the muck heap, another fly through the hay barn and so on, before going down to the stream to feed on midges and moths. The numbers plummeted after two very cold, wet Springs in 2011 and '12 but last year's warm summer saw a small improvement.
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We have a single one too Emily so dont fret :thumbsup:
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:thumbsup: