Jacey Bedford's Journal

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.

Found a bat on the floor outside this morning, a pipistrelle I think. A bat on the floor is a bat in trouble already, but one can but try. It didn't look damaged and it didn't look like a juvenile (it's the end of August they should be self-sufficient by now) so we did what you're supposed to do... put it in safe box with airholes and water and kept it quiet until dusk, then put it on a seven foot windowsill so it could take off easily and get airborne again.

But it hasn't.

It's still in the box. Alive but very quiet.

Called the bat helpline. No bloody help at all. Just an out of office reply and: 'please take it to your nearest vet as they have a duty of care to wildlife'. Yeah, right. Saturday night.

We think the bats roost in the eaves of our house - not that we've found evidence, but we see them flying each dusk. I'm very pleased to say that according to all the websites they are rather nice creatures to share accommodation with.