Thursday 19th August 2008: Echoes in the dark

I drove down to Barnluasgan visitors’ centre after work for the talk and guided walk on bats and their habitat. It was fascinating. Bats are the only truly flying mammal. Same as us, they are warm blooded, give birth, and suckle their young. And they have a complex social system.
In Argyll we can see 4 of the 15 species of bats in the UK: pipistrelle, brown long eared bats [with ears as long as their body!], daubentons and natterer’s. Each with their own flying style which helps with identification.
Batman and batwoman [the two forestry Commission leaders] set the scene with their talk in the wee cottage education centre with light provided with Halloween lanterns. When it was dark we set off to find some bats. First we saw the remnants of a maternal roost high in the rafters of another cottage. Then we walked down the side of the loch which had lots of broadleaf trees perfect for bats to do their echo location. We had bat detectors to help distinguish the sorts of bats we were seeing. The detectors pick up the frequencies the bats squawk at. Children and adults alike were so enthusiastic about spotting the bats, the leaders eventually told us that we’d see more if we kept quiet!