Count Bat 2008

Created  January 2009
Updated August 2011
  • BCT funding for the Queen’s Park Count Bat pilot project finished in September 2007, and we had n further contact until the following Jnuary.. It had always been the Bat Group’s intention to continue with the project, albeit on a reduced scale, and we made plans in November 2007.

The success of the first stage of the project and the fact that fifteen people had joined the bat group gave us further encouragement. Of the fifteen bat group recruits nine went on to become very actively involved in the Bat Group . Without them this level of activity would not have been possible. We decided on the following low cost options:
We also decided to  be as flexible as possible and respond to requests for activities. Activities in green were opportunities that arose during the year after our initial planning sessions and shows the importance of being flexible.

In January 2008 we were contacted by Diana Hagues, the new Count Bat Officer for our region. We invited her to a meeting in Queen’s Park to brief her on the project. At this point she told us that there would be some funding from the Count Bat Project which now had Heritage Lottery Funding

This funding paid for hall hire for the May walk, transport for the September walk, a pitch for the Bedford River Festival on June 2th and 13th and reprinting more Bat group bookmarks..

  • Photo Jude Hirstwood

    We ran an in house sonogram course  12 people attended the sonogram training course, six of whom were still analysing sonograms in 2011

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  • We introduced a new survey at Harrold Odell

    Photo Brian Diskin

    Country Park  (HOCP) which we ran three times

  • HOCP asked us to do two  public walks
  • The local cub group also asked us to lead a walk there

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  • Photo JUde HIrstwood

    We worked with the Priory Country Park Rangers on a bat box project We tracked down boxes which had been put up twenty years before, and  made some more boxes to go into the park which the Rangers put up

  • We provided material for a display on bats in the Visitor’s Centre
  • We worked with the Priory Park Rangers on four bat walks at Priory Park.  We lent them bat detectors and helped hem learn more about the bats in the park.
  • In return they let us use the Visitors’ Centre for training and meetings

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  • Kelly and LIzzie model their bat outfits

    Kelly and Lizzie organised the Bedford River Festival and made these bat wings. They have been lent to the Bat Conservation Trust for use at Birdfare and other events. 2008 -11river festival

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  • We agreed we try to meet any other requests for bat related activities in the community e.g. bat box building

 

Photo Jude Hirstwood

Street Ranger Paul Wheatley and Park Ranger Danny Fellman came up with a schme to build bat boxes at Queen’s Park Lower School. Bat group members came along to give advice on siting of boxes. They used the newly designed Kent Bat Box and we soon realised this was an ideal box for youngsters to build All the boxes were put up in the school grounds. 2009-10 bat box building at queen’s park

 

Photo Paul Wheatley

Danny and Paul then went on to build more boxes with the Queen’s Park Rangers. These boxes were put up in Queens Park and at Priory Country Park