A wonder of nature... and they eat midges
SOMETIMES in your life something really special can happen on your own doorstep. And, on this occasion, I actually mean my back doorstep.
I was letting the dog out for his evening stroll in the garden and I decided to join him as the weather was mild after a lovely, sunny day.
For the next 30 seconds a small bat fluttered around above my head, around the garden twice and then off to find more insects to munch upon.
It really took my breath away, seeing one of our beautiful mammals actually paying me a visit, because my garden attracts insects which it loves to feed on.
There are 17 species of bat in the UK, including local favourites like brown long-eared, Daubenton’s, greater horseshoe, Natterer’s and whiskered. The most common is the pipistrelle and the one I saw was a common pipistrelle.
This is our smallest and most common bat and you will see its erratic, twisting and turning flight around your garden, trees and local streetlights. They are recognisable from late flying birds because of their ability to turn at right angles.
They are nocturnal and feed on moths and other flying insects but, best of all, blooming midges. Some nights I struggle to sit out in our back garden for the midges so come on “pips”, come and get a feed. They can eat up to 3,000 insects a night.
Common pipistrelles feed in a wide range of habitats from grasslands to urban areas. They roost in tree holes, bat boxes and even the roof spaces of houses, often in small colonies. During the summer, females form maternity colonies, a bit like meeting up at the local library to talk about baby stuff.
They are tiny – between four and five centimetres long - but their wings stretch out to 20cm. With closed wings they could hide in a matchbox. They live up to five years.
The common pipistrelle has dark, golden-brown fur, a slightly paler underside and a dark mask around the face. Its flight is rapid with lots of twists and turns. The soprano pipistrelle is similar in appearance, so the two can be difficult to tell apart.
It was only recently discovered that there are actually two species of pipistrelle bat - common and soprano - both originally grouped as Pipistrellus pipistrellus. They are distinguished by the different frequency of their echolocation calls.
It is such an honour to have one of these wonderful, tiny animals in my garden. One of the few mammals that flies – a true wonder of the natural world. »●To support the work of the Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside text WILD09 with the amount you want to donate to 70070.