Bob and I bunked off the Harrold Odell survey to have a meal with friends at the Anchor Great Barford, (which had the world cup on the telly but with the sound turned off- Bliss.) Being so close to the river this of course degenerated into a bat walk.
We started off at the church
What a shame they have floodlit the church in the way they have. They might think it deters thieves but it sure as heck deters bats, and doesn’t show the church off to full advantage. There has been a lot of work done with the Institute of Engineers and the Bat Conservation Trust to produce guidelines on best practice. The end results are often very beautiful and highlight architectural features rather than bleach them out
We only heard a couple of bats in the time we were there and they were not hanging around. It is also known to dissuade other animals including insects.
We returned to the river and there the story was different. After a quiet start the local Daubenton’s and Noctules took it in turn to perform), much to the delight of those present. I think we have turned a few more people to the dark side
