Warwickshire woods bat survey reveals healthy population.

September 2010. The first survey into the night-time wildlife at the Forestry Commission's Weston & Waverly Woods has revealed that the forest is a popular hang-out for bats.

Rangers conducted the research with volunteers from the Warwickshire Bat Group and ecologists from the County Record Office. They headed into the woods at dusk to record any sightings of bats and to hunt for potential roosting sites.

Pipistrelle bats
Results now show at least 100 bats live in the woodlands. Most of the bats found were pipistrelle bats which are the smallest and most common species found in the UK.

The Forestry Commission's Richard Hayden says: "It was a very successful survey. There's never been a bat survey undertaken in Weston & Waverly Woods here so it was very interesting to discover that there are quite a reasonable number of bats living here.

"Because there are no records it's been a real plus to find out this information and it's exciting to discover that there may even be some rarer species inhabiting the woods. We can use this new information to make sure we can manage the woodlands to keep the bats safe and hopefully increase the population"