HOW many types of bat do you think there are in Britain? Three or four, perhaps? In fact, Britain is home to 18 species of bat.
The largest being the noctule – which still only weighs as much as four £1 coins – and the smallest, the pipistrelle, weighing as little as a 2p coin but known to eat more than 500 insects in an hour.
In Oxfordshire we are surrounded by bats: Daubenton’s, Brandt’s, pipistrelles, whiskered and serotine to name but a few – and a warm summer evening is one of the best times to see them.
If you are lucky enough to have a garden, then you will probably only need to sit out for a few minutes in July or August before these silent heralds come flying out of the darkness and flitting overhead as they hunt for the flying insects which they devour on the wing.
However, if you really want to attract bats to your garden, patio or even just the side of your block of flats, a great way to do it is with a bat box.
Installing a bat box will help local bats, encouraging them to move into areas that have limited roosting space.
All our native bats are insect-eaters, so having a few bats flitting around could also make summer evenings in the garden a little less buggy.
All you need to build a bat box are: some untreated, rough planks of wood; a hammer; nails; and a measuring tape and pencil.
Fix the planks of wood next to each other but with a little space about 2cm wide in between, which the bats can snuggle into.
If you lay one plank down, then put some strips of wood about 2cm thick on top of it along the edges, then lay your next plank of wood on top of the strips and nail them all together then you’ll have it about right.
If you repeat the process again then you can create another roosting slot in the same box, to give space for more bats.
When you’re done, just fix it to an outside wall as high as you (safely) can. For some really simple instructions, just go to wildlifetrusts.org/actions/how-build-bat-box.
Alternatively, if all that sounds like too much bother, then another great way to see bats is to go to a local nature reserve. One particularly good spot is Finemere Wood – a magnificent woodland a few miles north of Aylesbury that is home to birds, bats and butterflies.
The North Bucks Bat Group carry out funded survey work here, including ringing Bechstein’s bats. This rare and secretive species relies on the presence of tall trees, where they seek out insects to pluck from branches and leaves.
The reserve also has an interpretation board with information on some of the bat species that can be seen there.
We are also doing work to protect bat populations at Warburg Nature Reserve near Henley, Chimney Meadows near Witney, and plenty of other locations. You’ve also got a decent chance of spotting a few if you go for a walk through Iffley Meadows or our CS Lewis Nature Reserve.
To learn more about our local bat species, go to bbowt.org.uk
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