Rare barbastrelle bats spreading north – Colony discovered in Lincolnshire
06/07/2009 14:22:02
Chambers Farm Wood, where barbastrelle bats have been found. Credit Forestry Commission.
Rare bat makes natural history in LincolnshireJuly 2009. A rare bat is spreading its wings by moving into the heart of Lincolnshire. The Forestry Commission has discovered that the barbastelle bat - long regarded as a southern English species - has been found on its estate in
Chambers Farm Wood east of Lincoln.
Now a project is underway to see if the creature has established a breeding colony, which would signal that it's putting down permanent roots. The initial discovery was made using an electronic detector which captured the unique frequency of the barbastelle's echo location system.
100 bat boxes
That led to the Forestry Commission, Lincolnshire Bat Group and Vincent Wildlife Trust installing 100 special boxes in the 360-hectare (900-acre wood) in a bid to shed light on the newcomer by offering roosts which could be monitored.
Barbasrelle bats are woodland dwellers who like to roost between under bark which has split from on trees. They mate in the autumn and in winter roosts and one young is born from mid-June. The oldest bat recorded in Europe was 23 years old. Adults have a wingspan of up to 29cms and its ears are black, short and broad and joined across the forehead. Credit Forestry Commission.
Andrew Powers, from the Forestry Commission, said: "The bat has also been found in other nearby woodlands, including Cocklode, which like Chambers is part of the Bardney Limewoods. It seems to be spreading north, which could be in response to the generally warmer climate. Chambers is also a sensitively managed wood providing a good range of habitats. Its discovery means that we now have nine bat species in the wood, which is great news because in many places they are in decline."
5000 barbastrelles in UK
The UK population of barbastelles is estimated at 5,000 individuals and because of its rarity it has its own species action plan. The strange name is derived from the Latin for 'star beard' and refers to the delicate beard of frosted white hairs radiating from its lower lip. It has a squat face giving it a `pug-like' appearance. Finding out whether there were females amongst the bats was the next goal - and already some have been discovered.
Dave Hughes tracking down rare barbastelle bats in Chambers Farm Wood. Credit Forestry Commission.
Project leader Dave Hughes, Lincoln University postgraduate research student from Messingham, near Scunthorpe, and Principal Ecologist at Lincoln-based Ecological Consultancy, ESL, explained: "So far this year I've caught three females in Chambers Farm Wood and fitted a radio transmitter to one of these which allowed me to track her movements for 10 days. The other two bats had previously mated so it could be that we're getting close to finding a local maternity roost. We plan to do more radio-tracking work to answer this important question and also to see if barbastelles show a preference for certain types of woodland over others. We also want to know whether the bats move between the Limewoods and if so what flight paths they use. All the data we gather will help in the long-term conservation of the species."
Anne Goodall, Principal Ecologist at ESL and who lives in Chambers Farm Wood, added: "Harmless nets are being used to capture bats, but that's easier said than done as barbastelles fly pretty high. It would be brilliant if we could discover a maternity colony."
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