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Supporter story - Dave and Chi become bat detectives!

Tom Marshall

Our Fundraising Manager, Lucy, details a thrilling evening bat detecting with some incredibly generous supporters.

Last week, I was lucky enough to join Lorna Bennett, our Brockholes Reserve Officer, and two of our incredibly generous supporters, Dave and Chi, for an exclusive after-hours experience. Our task for the evening - becoming bat detectives! 

The midges filling the air were a positive sign that we'd be treated to some bat sightings - and soundings! Whilst we waited for the sun to set, we explored the reserve and Lorna explained the impact that Dave and Chi's kind donation of £15,000 would be having over the next few months.

Brockholes at sunset

Brockholes at sunset by Lucy Coxhead

The sand martins had recently returned to Brockholes, offering us an aerial spectacle as they acrobatically swooped through the air into the tiny bank nest boxes created at our large Number One pit lake. Dave and Chi's donation was part of our Step up for Wildlife appeal, and is supporting our efforts to fund a year at Brockholes, and create homes for our great crested newts. Part of our appeal funds will be focused on restoring and replacing nesting sites - including tern rafts, barn owl boxes and sand martin banks to ensure successful breeding. 

Lorna Bennett, Reserve Officer at Brockholes, crouched over a pond looking for great crested newts

Lorna Bennett, Reserve Officer at Brockholes, crouched over a pond looking for great crested newts by Lucy Coxhead

As we explored the reserve, we saw a few regular visitors such as the roe deer and the brown hare - but no boxing matches were scheduled this evening! Hares at this time of year are the stars of Brockholes, and you can often spot them boxing at Brockholes.

Lorna was very excited to share with Dave and Chi that great crested newt eggs have been spotted in one of our ponds. We were all amazed to hear how great crested newts lay their eggs individually and wrap them in leaves of pond plants for protection. This process involves the female carefully wrapping each egg within the leaf, which helps to shield the eggs from predators.  

Lorna Bennett looking up a tree into a bat box, checking for signs of roosting

Lorna Bennett checking bat boxes for signs of roosting by Lucy Coxhead

Next we made a quick pitstop to Boilton Wood, filled at this time of year with a carpet of bluebells and birdsong. Lorna took us to check on our bat roosting boxes, which recently had been jam-packed with common pipistrelle. Sadly, they were all out and about this evening, but it was fascinating to hear how each of our bat boxes is hand-made locally. Boxes are put up in areas of Brockholes where diseased or damaged trees have to be taken down, to ensure we leave a new home for our bats. 

A bat detector turned on listening for bat echolocation

A bat detector by Lucy Coxhead

Finally, as dusk crept in, we grabbed our bat detectors and headed out in search of our winged wonders. All UK bats are nocturnal – preferring to come out only at night. They feed on midges, moths and other flying insects that they find in the dark by using echolocation. Echolocation is their way of finding prey by making sounds - something our human ears cannot pick up, but our clever bat detectors can.  At night bats' ears are more important than their eyes. As they fly, they echolocate, and the returning echoes give the bats information about anything that is ahead of them, including the size and shape of an insect and which way it is going.

As land-dwellers, we love watching aerobatic displays, and we were lucky enough to spot a Noctule bat! It was easier to spot with the naked eye as it is our largest bat.  Watching this wonderful creature dashing, swooping and flitting through the shadows made me wonder if bats are our night-time Brockholes equivalent of our sand martins! 

Another great thing about bats is that, unlike other wild mammals, they don’t run away and hide when humans are present, which meant we were able to watch the bats without causing them any distress. We are just another object in the dark that they can sense using echolocation. As we walked through a tree canopy, our detectors picked up the unmistakable sounds of a common pipistrelle. The accuracy of their navigational superpowers makes it unlikely that we will be crashed into, yet we got a special thrill as these tiny, agile creatures passed by.

A Daubenton's bat hunting for insects over a river

Daubenton's bat by Dale Sutton/2020VISION

To round off the evening, Lorna took us to Meadow Lake with the hopeful expectation that we would hear a Daubenton's bat - a bat that hunts on still waters. As we waited silently, our detectors all burst into life with a series of clicks, and we sensed the bat swooping around us, interspersed by tiny splashes on the water as it used its feet and tail to scoop up insects from the water's surface as it foraged. Lorna was armed with her torch, scanning the water in hopeful expectation that we would catch a glimpse - but it was too quick for us that night as it continued to skim the water hunting! 

This evening was a special way to thank Dave and Chi for their incredibly, generous donation. Chi said of the evening: "We were pleased to hear different bats and learn so much from Lorna who is just so enthusiastic and knowledgeable". Thank you once again for your kindness! 

Major gifts have the power to transform landscapes, mitigate climate change, protect wildlife and bring people closer to nature. If you'd like to discuss how your support can make a difference, please email fundraising@lancswt.org.uk or call 01772 324129 and a member of our team will respond to you personally. Your gift will have the ability to make a transformational difference across Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside. 

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