InYourGarden-Sussex Bats

Monthly gardening ideas & tasks by Andrew Staib of Glorious Gardens

Sussex Bats What species do we have? There are a total of 18 species of bat that breed in the UK and all of them can be found in Sussex. The Barbastelle, Bechstein’s, Greater Horseshoe, Greater Mouse-eared and the Alcathoe whiskered bat are all very rare yet still live within Sussex. The Serotine and Noctule are both uncommon. The Brandt’s, Nathusius’s Pipistrelle, Natterer’s and Whiskered are scarce. The Daubenton's bat, Common Pipistrelle and the Brown long-eared bat are abundant as is the Soprano Pipistrelle.The Leisler’s and Grey long-eared bat has been rarely recorded in Sussex. They have only recorded spotting one Lesser Horseshoe. The Greater Horseshoe bat is one of the rarest bats in the UK, their numbers are thought to have plummeted from about 300,000 at the turn of the last century to just 9,000 today. There are over 1400 species of bat in the world, the smallest having a wing span of 15cm the largest having 1.7metre wide wings! Some bats are solitary, some live in colonies. The largest in the world is Braken Cave in Mexico with a population of 20 million bats! What do they eat? A single bat can consume up to 500 insects within an hour, a common bat can eat over 3000 insects in a single evening. Bats fossil records are around 50 million years ago during a time known as the Eocene. Palaeontologists have recovered remains ranging from teeth and bits of jaw to stunning full skeletons. There are some differences between the oldest bats and their modern relatives. Based upon the ear anatomy of the better-preserved specimens, for example, scientists know that the first bats couldn’t echolocate. They relied on sight, smell and touch to find their meals. While modern bats have a claw only on the equivalent of our thumb,

The greater mouse-eared bat earlier bats kept some of the additional finger claws inherited from their ancestors. Where can I see bats near me? Bodiam Castle is the place to visit to see one of the most important bat roosts in the Uk. In 2013, they recorded the earliest ever births of wild baby bats in the UK. On average there are over 200 Daubenton’s bats, with 321 recorded in 2012. The volunteers who count the colony believe it is the largest known Daubenton’s bat maternity roost in the UK. The roost is also used by another bat speThe origins of bats cies in the Myotis family, the Natterer’s bat, with up to 100 of these counted in the past. The best months to spot bats are between April to November. You should locate yourself by a river or pond because they tend to be hunting for insects there and start looking outside 20 minutes after sunset. Planting insect loving plants will help attract insects to your garden which bats feed on. Leading Sussex Wildlife Trust business partner Infinity Foods has recently given funding towards a bat box project in the city of Brighton and

Hove, led by Sussex Wildlife Trust’s Huw Morgan and Ryan Greaves in collaboration with Brighton and Hove City Council, Sussex Bat Group and local parks’ Friends groups. Why should I get a bat box for my garden? Building a bat box will provide the creatures with somewhere safe to roost, raise their pups and sleep during the day. Because the numbers of insects have plummeted since the 70s, bats are having a Bat box tough time finding enough food and many of their natural roosting places are being damaged and destroyed. Seeing by sound Bats are one of the few mammals that can use sound to navigate, this is called echolocation. Echolocation along with special morphological (physical features) and physiological adaptations allows bats to see with sound. Most bats produce echolocation sounds by contracting their voice box. A few species, though, click their tongues. These sounds are generally emitted

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through the mouth, but Horseshoe bats and Old World leaf-nosed bats emit echolocation calls through their nostrils. Some training for deaf children now involves clicking their fingers and listening for the echo so they can judge how far objects are from them. How can I get involved? Join the Sussex Bat Group (SBS), they help conserve bats and their habitat whilst raising awareness of bats. Go along to one of their educational events which are held throughout the year.

Help with providing a care and rescue service for sick and injured bats, with the backup of permanent bat hospitals. What does the SBS do? They record and monitor bat populations in Sussex. The group assists Natural England with roost visits where threats to bats may exist. They also help by carrying out conservation projects such as bat box schemes, improving roost sites or opening and protecting potential sites. www.sussexbatgroup.org.uk Where to visit in November

Knepp Estate, where you can experience rewilding at first hand, has signed walks that vary from an hour to four hours. A £5 donation is suggested at the car park. New Barn Farm, Swallows Lane, Dial Post, Horsham RH13 8NN Fancy choosing your own Christmas tree? Wilderness Woods in East Sussex offers you the chance to select your tree from their plantation in November, put a ribbon around it, then come back in December and chop it down.

November tasks

• Harvest the last of your tomatoes as the frosts can get them - even if they are green they will ripen in a bowl. • Lift your Dahlias and store them in a dry, dark place (some people leave them in the soil over Winter but this is a risk) • Prune tall Roses to reduce the rock to their roots a strong Winter wind can wreak on them. • Bubble wrap any precious tropical trees like Bananas or Tree Ferns if frosts are imminent. • Think about planting Perennial and trees. Trees can be bought as bare root specimens which means they will be cheaper plus the plants will have five months to establish without any real need of watering before Spring arrives.

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