Using a bat detector

Louis is eight, and since he was four he has loved bats and everything to do with them.

For his fifth birthday Louis asked for a bat detector. We had been on a local guided bat walk and he was hooked. We searched the internet for a bat detector suitable for a four year old but I don’t think many four year olds must ask for bat detectors!

We found a suitable one made by Batz in the end and although I think we paid around £80.00 for it at the time, it’s been well worth the money. The same one probably isn’t available now but a quick google tells me that a newer, digital version is retailing at around £70.00.

With Louis and his love of bats in mind, day 14 of #30DaysWild is all about bats. Do you know where and when to spot them?

The best time to spot bats is at dusk. They are found almost everywhere but you have a better chance of spotting them in a quiet place, near still water. That’s where they find lots to eat so will naturally gather there in higher numbers.

There are lots of bat species, but here in the UK there are 17 or 18 known species. The ones we spot most often are the common pipistrelle and the daubenton’s bat. We learned to differentiate between the two by the sounds they make which are picked up by the bat detector.

Some fun bat facts

• Bats are flying mammals.
• While others can glide, bats are the only mammals capable of continued flight.
• There are over 1000 different bat species.
• Bats are nocturnal (active at night).
• Bats ‘see’ in the dark using a special skill called echolocation. Bats make noises and wait for the sound waves to bounce back off objects (an echo), if it doesn’t bounce back then they can safely fly forward. They can tell the distance of various objects by how quickly the sound waves bounce back to them.
• Most bats feed on insects, while others eat fruit, fish or even blood!
• There are 3 species of vampire bats which feed solely on blood.
• Vampire bats have small and extremely sharp teeth which are capable of piercing an animal’s skin (humans included) without them even noticing.
• Vampire bats can carry rabies, making their bites potentially dangerous.
• Some bats live by themselves while others live in caves with thousands of other bats.
• Bats can live for over 20 years.
• Pteropus bats (also known as flying foxes or fruit bats) are the largest in the world.

Competition

I’ve teamed up with Morphsuits.co.uk during our wild month of June to bring you a brilliant competition! You can win one of their fabulous kids Morphsuits – just complete the gleam widget below.

You can choose from the vampire bat, the cobra or the tiger. Which one will you choose?

Our boys had the Vampire Bat costumes for Halloween last year and loved them!

Good luck!

Morphsuit