Llanelli Naturalists Newsletter - Summer 1993 - No 55
N.R. Matthew

Leader: N.R. Matthew

Fifteen people met at the Farriers Arms at 9pm with the object of looking for bats with the help of Neil Matthew, Unfortunately one of the group couldn't join the expedition as she had locked herself out of the car and had to wait for assistance. The rest of us continued into the woods as some rain had started to fall. The leader described how in poor weather conditions, eg wind and rain, bate will tend to exploit areas of woodland in preference to most open areas and we very soon were given in appreciation of this when the first bat was found - at about 9.30pm. It was flying in circles round a large beech tree in a glade. Round and round it went, illustrating how many bate, particularly pipistrelles and whiskered bate, will, when feeding, adopt a particular beat or routeway which they will follow repeatedly as they are feeding. This one appeared from the bat detector, a device used to convert the bat's ultrasonic echolocation sounds into something that humans can hear, to be a pipistrelle and was flying at around head height and occasionally swooped very close to the ground. This was also probably as a result of the weather which discouraged insects from flying high. A further example of this was found very soon afterwards when at least two bats were flying in a similar manner in an open clearing which however was still fairly sheltered. In the interests of science (the rain was much heavier now) we left the shelter of the woodland and braving also a fairly stiff breeze followed the track which runs adjacent to the farmland near Stradey Castle. We didn't see any bats here, not even any noctules which prefer to hunt over more open country. We decided to return quickly to the woods as here there was likely to be more shelter - and bats. On the question being asked as to whether the group had had enough or wanted to stay out longer, the answer was unanimously the latter. So we continued a little longer in the wet - and the dark. We soon had another illustration of bat behaviour relating to the principle that when the weather is rough and feeding poor bats will, rather than waste energy, return to the roof and come out later if conditions Improve. We spent about half an hour walking through the woodland in the rain but heard no sounds from the bat detector. At half past ten we decided that there was really no point in staying out longer - it would have been different if any bats had still been about - rather bedraggled we made our way back to the cars. Some of us then took ourselves off to the Farriers Arms - to dry out! Though not thronged with bats the evening was nevertheless worthwhile and showed how entertaining and instructive evening one or two bats can be: it was also a tribute to the strength (15 is a good number on a bat walk), resilience and enthusiasm of the Llanelli Naturalists!