We are particularly fond of bats at MDNHS headquarters, with two committee members regularly volunteering with Wiltshire Bat Group. We are fortunate in Wiltshire to be a bat ‘hotspot’ in Britain, hosting almost all of our 17 native breeding bat species.
Back in June 2023 we had a foray around Malmesbury to see what bats could be found in and around the town. We set off on a circular walk, starting at Conygre Mead at dusk where we encountered soprano pipistrelles (Pipistrellus pygmaeus) and common pipistrelles (Pipistrellus pipistrellus) at close quarter flitting above our heads.
We then followed the river to the Bowls Club where we heard tantalising echolocation calls of Serotine(Eptesicus serotinus) and Noctule (Nyctalus noctula) on the bat detectors (as well as picking up the calls of a rat by the river!).
Finally, on our way back to the long stay park we lingered at the bridge at the bottom of Abbey steps and watched with delight as Daubenton’s bats (Myotis daubentonii) skimmed over the surface of the river back and forth under the bridge, dipping down to pluck insects off the surface. Even for seasoned bat watchers this was a thrill!
Take a look at the graphic below… ‘A’ shows the Daubenton’s call as they fed over the water; ‘B’ shows a Noctule flying overhead and ‘C’ is very excited humans squealing with delight!!!
For our second bat event, in February 2024 we hosted Gareth Harris of Wiltshire Bat Group who gave a talk on the Bats of the Braydon Forest to an audience of 34 people. It was fascinating to find out about the bats discovered there and the ongoing research on the topic.
His long-term study, in conjunction with other local bat experts, has showed that 13 bat species are living in the Braydon Forest close to Malmesbury. These include four of Britain’s rarest bats – Bechstein’s, Barbastelle, Lesser Horseshoe and Greater Horseshoe.
Their survey and monitoring efforts are ongoing, some of which you can get involved with through Wiltshire Bat Group.
Following on from the success of our previous bat walk, we will be leading another on 13th September, with the aim of more comprehensively surveying Malmesbury’s rivers for Daubenton’s bats. Keep an eye out for when we advertise it nearer the time!
