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prosecuted for destruction of a bat roost. In October 2009 a developer and a demolition company were found guilty at Colchester Magistrates Court of destroying a bat roost. Hills Residential Construction was fined £2,000 with £115 costs and North East Demolition UK was fined £1,500 with £115 costs for committing an offence under the Conservation (Natural Habitats etc) Regulations 1994; namely destroying a breeding site or resting place of brown long-eared bats at Blue Barn Farm, Elmstead Market. Prior to the offence taking place, a bat survey had been undertaken as part of a proposal to re-develop an agricultural outbuilding at the site. John Dobson, who carried out the survey, sent us the following account for inclusion on the Website: “In September 2006, I conducted a bat survey on a barn at Elmstead Market in north east Essex and found droppings and feeding remains consistent with the building being used by brown long-eared bats. At first sight, the building was a large contemporary grain store but a small timber-framed barn had been adsorbed into the south west corner of the structure, with access to the barn being achieved by walking through the grain store. The report recommended further surveys to determine the bat population involved and said that a European Protected Species Licence would be required. An exchange of emails that autumn with the architect showed possible mitigation options, with new roosts being sited in roof voids.” “In June 2008, I drove past the site and found that the barn had been demolished. Neither Natural Eengland’s licensing department, nor the local authority, had any evidence that a licence had been obtained and I reported the incident to the police.” Rare Bat released back into the wild Please click HERE for more info. BAD ADVICE COSTS LIVES EBG CALLS FOR A CHANGE IN ADVICE GIVEN Too frequently this Summer we have spoken to people who are concerned about bats that are grounded and have been advised to leave the bats out at night to see if they will fly off. Surely if they are grounded they are in need of help? We can't expect the general public to be able to determine what is wrong or to assess a bats health and weight. To leave them till the evening and then put them outside causes problems:- i) It allows a bat that is likely to be compromised to be left for too long a time - the longer they go without assistance the less chance there is to save them. ii) It puts the bat at risk from cats and birds. What may begin as a lethargic bat can soon become an injured or dead bat. In Essex this advice is wrong. I think I can speak for us all on the 'rescue' side when I say we would rather pick up more bats earlier and give them a better chance of survival than ask people to follow this advice. Also, from the people that I have spoken to - they are very uncomfortable in following that advice. We have to take into account the public feeling and perception of us and our work. I have spoken to two different people in the last month who have been in tears at the distress they feel they have caused a grounded bat by following the advice given to them to leave the bat outside at dusk to see if it will fly. I even spoke to one lady who felt terrorised by her local bat group. Here in Essex we respond immediately to calls at any time of day or night and the public can be assured that they will receive swift, knowledgeable advice and assistance from beginning to end. This obviously puts more of a strain on us and our resources but at least we can be sure that we are doing the very best we can to help the Essex bat population. |
| From our foreign correspondent. Kim Wallis.. took this photograph whilst dining alfresco on Bay Island of Utila, off the coast.. of Honduras. The bat was feeding on nectar at a hummingbird feeding station at a restaurant... It is a Pallas’s Long-toungued Bat (Glossophaga Soticinia ),.. a species that occurs from Mexico south to northern.. Argentina. It has a long tongue with a brush-like tip for.. reaching into flowers and extracting nectar... This bat is notable for its role as an important pollinator.. of certain trees and for having the fastest metabolism.. ever recorded in a mammal. In fact, and probably by no.. coincidence, its metabolic rate is similar to that of the.. hummingbirds whose hovering, nectar consuming habits it shares. |
 [Photo: Kim Wallis].. |
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Luxury Bat Roost Box Arrives at Essex Wildlife Trust Hanningfield Reservoir Visitor Centre and Nature Reserve. The Essex Wildlife Trust Visitor Centre has just taken delivery of a state of the art bat roost box worth £1000 - designed, built and donated by Maurice Webber of Conservation Constructions ltd. The box has been attached to the top of a telegraph pole, which is positioned outside the visitor centre, close to the location of the existing maternity roost of soprano pipistrelle bats. The Hanningfield Visitor Centre has been host to a maternity bat roost for the last three years, with over 470 bats using the roof of the visitor centre each year. Female bats gather in the Maternity Roost April - October and give birth to their pups. After 4 weeks old the pups start to be weaned and begin to venture out of the roost and learn to fly and catch small flying insects on the wing. During the autumn the bats leave the maternity roost and find a suitable site to hibernate over the colder months. The Claughton family carry out fortnightly counts of the roost, counting the bats as they emerge one by one out of the roof apex.
This data is important and shows that the number of bats using the roost has
increased each year. The fitting of the telegraph pole and box was done by Rob
and Martyn from Cable and Line, who gave their time and resources free of
charge. The bat roost box is made from wood, and has a tiled roof and front.
The box has a range of small entrances, which lead into a wide range of layered
compartments and sections, which will appeal to a number of species of bat. We
are hoping that in addition to the building the bats will make use of the roost
box to raise their young. We will then insert an infra red camera into the box,
which will transmit live images of the bats to a screen in the visitor
centre. |
