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Watching Bats in West Wales.......
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We
found the walk advertised in the Ceredigion Coast and Countryside
leaflet distributed from the Tourism Office at Aberaeron.
Left:
The ruins at Llanina beside the car park
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We arrived a few
minutes early to join some twenty others standing around expectantly. The
walk was to be led by Richard Crompton, member of the
North Ceredigion Bat Group and Estate Manager of the
Hafod Estate near Aberystwyth. We
were issued with Bat Detectors - small black boxes with
a volume and a frequency control. They were of the type
known as heterodyne Bat Detectors in which a microphone
picks up the high frequency sounds of passing bats and
then converts them to a frequency audible to
humans. Humans can hear at the best a frequency of
20 KHz ( 20,000 cycles per second ). Commonly Bats make
their echo-location sounds at frequencies from 20 KHz up
to more than 80KHz in the case of the Greater Horseshoe
Bat.
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The Llanina car
park provides an excellent location for seeing
Bats. The mature broadleaf woodland has a wide
variety of tree species - Beech, Horse Chestnut, Sycamore,
Oak and Ash predominantly with good ground
vegetation and a developing under storey. Many of
the trees have holes and cavities ideal for bat
roosts.
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The river Llethi passes
through a deep valley here on its way to the sea
at Llanina point just a few hundred yards away. We
were hoping to see (or hear) the Daubenton's Bat
which feeds predominantly on insects over water.
Unfortunately, we didn't!
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As
we stood in the clearing by the car park,
listening to Richard's account of the natural
history of Bats, the light was
rapidly fading. Soon the detectors picked up the
sounds of the first Bat - a solitary Noctule (Nyctalus
noctula), flying high above the trees. CLICK
HERE for the sound of a Noctule Bat from a
Bat Detector. The
Noctule is one of the largest of the 16 Bat
species found in Britain with a wingspan of up to
40 cms and a weight of 18 - 40 g. It is one of the
earliest flying bats, sometimes seen even before
dusk. The Noctule is a Bat that roosts in
trees. Indeed, later that evening our Bat
Detectors picked up the sounds of a male Noctule
calling to females from its roost in a nearby
tree.
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Within minutes,
our Bat Detectors picked up the first of the
little Pipistrelle bats we were to see and hear.
Their sounds - altered by the Bat Detectors were a
rapid staccato burst of clicks, quite different
from the sound of the Noctule. CLICK
HERE for the sound of a Pipistrelle
Bat. The 'Pip' is Britain's smallest Bat
with a wingspan maximum of 25 cms and a weight of
only 3 - 8g. It feeds on midges and other small
insects and has to work very hard, catching as
many as 3,000 midges in a night. Recently British
Pipistrelles have been divided into two separate
species, those with a sound at 45 KHz and those
that pitch their echolation at 55 KHz. The two
species are Pipistrellus pipistrellus
and Pipistrellus pygmaeus.
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Leaving the
clearing, we climbed the steps through the
woodland at the side of the valley. Walking in single
file, we followed the path for half a mile or so until
we reached a recently planted open area close to the B
4342 Llanarth to Newquay road. Here for the first time
we heard the dry hard clicking sounds of one of the
Myotis Bats. Their sounds are very similar, however
during the time we were in this open area, various
members of the North Ceredigion (Aberystwyth) Bat group
thought we heard both Whiskered or Brandt's Bat and a
third Myotis species, the Natterer's Bat. By now of
course it was far too dark to see any of the Bats and we
were relying entirely upon the Bat Detectors for
information. CLICK HERE
for the sounds of a Natterer's Bat. We also picked up
some unusual chirping sounds in this area. The consensus
of opinion was that it was probably the sounds of
insects rather than the sounds of Bats!
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This open area
however was disappointing, with few bats being
heard. It was suggested that maybe the bats were
feeding elsewhere where there were more insects -
possibly down at the beach at Llanina.
Consequently, we returned to the car park and
followed the footpath down to the sea. We stood at
the end of the path and within minutes Bats
were passing by as they flew over the water
and woodland on either side .
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. For the next fifteen
minutes, our Bat Detectors were chirping away.
Unfortunately, we didn't hear any other species of
Bats although we saw several Pipistrelles in the light
of our torches Bat species not only
make up a large proportion of the native British
mammals, but they evoke a considerable amount of
interest, for there are more than 120 Bat Groups around
the country. All British Bats are protected by law under
the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and must not be
killed or disturbed in any way in their roosts. In every
area, there are Bat Wardens appointed by the statutory
authority, English
Nature or in our case the Countryside
Council for Wales. These wardens can legally handle
bats and investigate Bat problems.
Note:
Ceredigion has discontinued its walks programme.
Cottages I
Activities I
The Area I Wildlife
I Beaches
I Web
Design I Disclaimer
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