Hello Folks!
A couple of years ago I attended a Bat Walk on Mousehold Heath in Norwich held by the Norwich Bat Group, which did not involve dressing up like Batman and doing the Adam West Bat Dance through the woods, unfortunately, but did involve spotting various varieties of flittermice in the dusky crepuscular sky.
This country is host to a wonderful assortment of bats, such as the adorable pipistrelle, the loveable long-eared and the downright dainty lesser horseshoe. Some people find these delightful creatures a little scary, perceiving them as the dangerous descendents of Count Dracula, perhaps, but perpetuating this myth is not helpful for protecting these harmless, hairy mammals. Although how can we really be sure that bats aren’t just birds in Halloween costumes? We just have to trust biologists, I suppose.
Bats in the UK are not vampiric. They do, however, possess the power of sonar, emitting supersonic clicks, which they use to navigate and catch their dinners, mostly consisting of moths and bugs. Tasty! They fly in regular, systematic patterns to catch their prey, weaving through the air, gliding along specific routes, fluttering around one point and then moving on to the next to cover the maximum amount of available territory to catch their lovely nibbles in. Yum!
Unfortunately, bat numbers are considerably on the decline due to building and construction works impeding on their roosting sites, destruction of habitat, a decreasing supply of food, disease and hunting or killing by cats, chemical treatments and human negligence. We must protect our nocturnal neighbours by providing quiet places for them to roost - we’d be bats not to! To find out more about bats and the Norwich Bat Group, please visit: http://www.norwichbatgroup.org.uk
They are also looking for help with ‘The Big Norwich Bat Project’ in 2013 (the Bat Group, not the bats themselves, although they might be), which isn’t a project to find the biggest Norwich bat, but to track bat numbers in your area: http://www.norwichbatgroup.org.uk/project.html
Stay (bell)free!
Tom Read, Norwich Greenpeace Member
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