Rare bats (of the flying kind) on the Common?

I have been actively studying and working to conserve bats on a voluntary basis for over 15 years, under licence from English Nature.  For the last seven years I have spent a lot of time studying the rare Barbastelle and Bechstein’s bats in Wiltshire.  These studies have included the use of bat boxes as well as the netting, ringing and radio-tracking of bats to better understand their ecology.  Location of roosting sites, including the first Wiltshire maternity roosts for both species, commuting and foraging areas have supported land management planning by landowners and government advisory bodies.  Researchers in other parts of southern England are conducting similar studies.

Although much has been done to record the fauna and flora of Silchester Common and Pamber Forest, there are few records for bats, our only flying mammals.  Bats are known to live in the outer parts of houses in the area and bats have been recorded roosting and foraging across the Common and Forest.  However, only two or three of the UK’s 17 resident bat species have been recorded according to local naturalists.

When I first moved to Silchester in 2003 I was impressed to see such good habitat for bats on the Common and in Pamber Forest.  The mature oak trees, streams and in particular the widespread holly understorey appeared to be very good bat habitat.  It is unusual to see such good understorey because this is often cleared for either access or aesthetic reasons. 

I have been a volunteer with the Silchester Common Working Party since last year and have enjoyed clearing silver birch to open up the heathland.  However, on our last outing I was concerned to discover that the plan was to clear an area of holly understorey.  But I had no need to be concerned because after a discussion with members of the Committee, John, Andrew and Graham, all committed conservationists, it was agreed that the holly should be retained in view of the importance of this habitat for bats and plans for the day were changed.

Since moving to Silchester I have had little chance to do any bat surveys in the local area because of my continuing work in Wiltshire.   However following this discovery of such habitat in Clevelys Copse and the immediate surrounding area,  I plan to do more surveys with Graham Dennis, Pamber Forest Warden, and members of the Common Working Party to find out more about bat activity in the area.  Initially this will involve the use of electronic bat detectors to identify the bat ‘hot spots’ and identify some of the species present.  If we find areas of particular interest we may expand the study to include mist netting and perhaps subsequent radio-tracking.

If you know of any areas where bats are particularly active or if you would like to get involved in surveys please let me know.  I would also be interested to receive any known bat roost records for buildings or trees.  If you would like any general information about bats I would be happy to advise.  Alternatively, you may like to visit the Bat Conservation Trust web site at www.bats.org.uk.

Next month I will explain, in more detail, the specific requirements for the habitat of the rarer bat species.

Steve Laurence
March 2006