Last Updated: Oct 2008
Surveys
Projects
batsinbeds@fsmail.net.
Webweaver: Jude Hirstwood
Last Updated: Oct 2008
Surveys
Projects
Webweaver: Jude Hirstwood
Bedfordshire Bat Group News Archive
April 2008
Beds Bat group has a myspace page More.
This will be updated more regularly than this site. So for the very latest updates on events etc click here
Bat group Twentieth Birthday Party 13th April 2008 More
New surveys planned for Harrrold Odell Country Park More.....
More surveys at The Lodge Sandy More
Bat walks at Priory Park Bedford More
Kent Bat Group produce a simple new bat box design. Click here for a pdf file of instructions
The missing tetrads-can you help us get records? More
Bedfordshire Mammal Conference Saturday 18th October 2008 More
Count Bat is back More
Plans for 2008 in Queen's Park More ...
Bedfordshire man wins national photographic competition More
Tony goes paragliding again More
September 2007
Joan Childs produces her nineteenth annual report and staggers off to find some laurels to rest on.
Tony Aldhous after nineteen years hands on the database and goes off to rest on a thermal over the HImalayas.
Both will help us out when we get stuck ( Note when not if).
More interesting sonograms, possibly Nathusius pipistrelle this time and the most peculiar call that we can only assume was a male Noctule advertising his availability
August 2007
Summer, what summer? Some puzzling sonograms records. Have we got a Leisler's in the county? We have our first Summer Natterer's at Whipsnade
June and July 2007
Still busy with Count Bat, bat walks and public events Several of us run off to Malaysia in pursuit of peace, quiet and bats as the skies open.
May 2007
Count Bat keeps us busy. FInd a possible new roost site for Noctules at Stockgrove Park
April 2007
The season begins and we rush outdoors.
The Count Bat Project gets underway in Queen's Park Bedford. Click here for details. Too chilly for the bats at Whipsnade, but our Soprano pipistrelle roost has record numbers. We think we have a record of a whiskered bat
March 2007
At the beginning of March quite a few bats are spotted, but they sensibly go back to bed when the weather turns cold. Whipsnade Zoo is putting up a range of new bat boxes in the woodland walk and we will be monitoring their success. And did we mention Count Bat?
February 2007
Numbers are even higher in the February hibernation check We get record numbers in the Whipsnade hibernacula. New committee has first meeting and finds itself with lots to do. Mooching about elsewhere we find a new hibernation site (complete with barbastelle) and still have time to work on Count Bat
January 2007
A successful members' day. More work on the Count Bat Project and lots of plans for 2007 and a newly formed committee to sort out how to do it. A record number of bats in the January hibernaculum check. Click here for pictures of the January check and here for pictures of some very well hibernation checkers as Aspley Guise gains new victims
December 2006
Bob gives a talk on barbastelles for the Milton Keynes Natural History Society. Planning for the Count Bat Project continues apace. We decide to base the project in the Queens Park area of Bedford.In our spare time we plan an indoor event for members at the end of January.Then out of the blue we get a grant from Natural England to improve some hibernation sites.
To cap it all Mark gets his bat licence.
November 2006
Bob gives a successful talk at the Bedfordshire Natural History Society on recent work of the bat group. The Bat Conservation Trust finds grant money to allow a Count Bat Project to be run in Bedfordshire. We get networking and make a lot of social calls.
We work out just how much we did this season and have to go and lie down. Click here for some pointless stats
October 2006
As the season draws to a close, three bat group members cheer themselves up by looking at their photos of bats they took while in Brazil this August. Click here and here for more details. Click here for some pictures.
We have numerous requests to do talks for brownie packs for Halloween. Thanks to Neil and Tony we are able to do some of them. Apologies to those we couldn't help this year. (If you'd be willing help out at activities like this in future, please get in touch).
Joan escapes to Trinidad and Tobago and takes some fantastic pictures
Michele gets her bat licence.
September 2006
Go back to the site where we mist netted two barbastelle August with a view to some radiotagging and catch one pipistrelle all night - ah well there is always next year.
Bob and Chris give a talk at the National Bat Conference on their work on barbastelle tracking in Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire.
An albino bat is found in Bedfordshire
August 2006
Still busy with woodland surveys and bat walks
July 2006
Busy with woodland surveys and bat walks
June 2006
Bat season is in full spate and we still found time to attend the BBC Springwatch event and the BNHS 60th anniversary celebrations and the glow in the dark bats made their first appearance on the Whipsnade walk
May 2006
Exhausted by questing for missing website, looking for elusive bats made a nice change. We were joined by record numbers of people - thanks to all of you.
Apologies to all of you who quested for this site in vain during March and April This was due to problems with our previous host. We have now moved to a more friendly habitat and have had to change our address. Congratulations for finding us.
1st Whipsnade walk of the year launches the new bat season.
Provisional dates for this year's woodland/ barbastelle survey decided.
Hibernaculum check 55 (cf 69 in February 2005). Evidence of predation in largest site may account for fall. Three brown long eared bats have spent all winter in a purpose built hibernaculum in Mid Beds.
Sunday 29th January. Indoor meeting at Whipsnade Zoo. Click here for photos
Hibernaculum check 83 (cf 94 in January 2005)
Record numbers for December hibernacula check. (61cf 48 in Dec 2004) Those with severe withdrawal symptoms meet to practice sonogram analysis and share favourite recordings. Meeting to discuss barbastelle project data.
Organise bat handling evening for trainees. Bat box project given a boost by offer of free bat boxes from Pete Maule. More data analysis.
As nights draws in, we begin to analyse the backlog of data, make plans for next year and begin a bat box location exercise.
We extend our radiotagging season and are rewarded by 5 bats flying into the nets in 20 minutes, including 3 barbastelles. We tag one male and one female and locate 7 roosts including the first in Bucks.
We catch the first ever Brandt's bat - an elderly non lactating female Catch & radiotrack a female barbastelle, who forages in Bucks and Beds, find her roost, and follow her movements for over a week. A male and female Natterer's bat are mist netted in Ampthill Park.
Closing in on the barbastelles, but the mixed Daubenton and Noctule roost proves elusive- but we do see a sparrowhawk waiting for pipistrelles to leave their roost entrance. 2004 Annual Report published
We help radio track the Cambridgeshire Bat group's barbastelles and close in on "ours" with bat detectors. We locate a possible mixed Daubenton and Noctule roost.
Our first joint project with the North Bucks Bat Group begins as we look for and find barbastelles
First ever Whipsnade walk
To while away the hours between the hibernaculum checks and the other surveys, we have completely redesigned this website - and then spent the next three months wrestling it into submission
First bat sighted at Sandy on 18th March 2005
Record numbers of bats found on the hibernaculum checks
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