Pipistrelle down

[jacey]

Bats!

Found a pipistrelle 3 days ago on my Mum's bedroom floor. Goodness knows how it got there as she never has her window open, though I suppose it could have flown in through our bedroom window as we have a door on the back landing between our house and hers.

Last time we found a bat (outside) it didn't survive the night, but we did the usual: put it in a sturdy little box (on its side, open) with a damp tissue for water on a high windowsill in the barn and let nature take its course. The little fellow was out of the box and clinging on to the windowsill on Monday. Tuesday it was wedged between the box and the stonework at the side of the window. Today it was clinging to the stonework windowsill.

We figured it must have been feeding to survive that long, but we only saw it recumbent. This evening it divebombed Brian in the yard and went off bug-hunting across the lawn. Not sure why it's still roosting on the windowsill, though. We're hoping it will be gone tomorrow to some safe roost. We think the bat colony is in the loft of a house halfway up the terrace. If we have bats in our belfry we've never noticed, but they could just be tucked under the eaves or hiding under the guttering. Hoping the little guy will find its way home. We haven't moved the cardboard box yet, but if it's hunting, we're probably safe to get rid of the box while it's not tucked somewhere close by.

Comments

[jhetley.livejournal.com]

Do people put up bat houses in the UK? According to Wife, they work.

[birdsedge.livejournal.com]

Yes, you can get bat-boxes. We were looking at them today. Do bats tend to prefer the boxes to roof-spaces?

[jhetley.livejournal.com]

According to Wife, who is a Professional, yes. The boxes are sized better to the way bats like to roost, and allow them to crowd together.

I don't know how they got the researcher in there with the clipboard to ask survey questions, though.

[watervole.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad you were able to help it. I've a soft spot for pipistrelles.

[birdsedge.livejournal.com]

Anything that eats 3000 bugs a night is fine by me! We've always had bats around the cottages. You can see them flying down the row at dusk.

[birdsedge.livejournal.com]

The pippistrelle has officially flown. After a few days of skulking round the upstairs (barn) windowsill which still had the rescue box on it, the bat has now vacated the premises, hopefully for a nice, friendly, crowded bat-roost. Still thinking of getting some bat-boxes, though. The little critters can come and munch their way through as many of our bugs as they like, aphids, midges, many varieties of flies and mosquitoes especially, since we now seem to have them up here even in these northern climes (and 1000 ft above sea level).