Farmer Ferrers Diary - July

Country Park News

I've been thinking about bats recently - we have a lot of bats in the country park but I don't expect many of you see them as they only come out after dusk, and are all back in their roosts by the time you wake up in the morning. There are 16 species of bat in this country, but not all of them live on the country park. One bat that we have lots of in the country park is the Pipistrelle. It is the smallest bat in Europe with a body length of about 4cm, a wingspan of 19-25cm and only weighs between 3 and 8g! They will roost in buildings or trees during the day and come out to feed at around sunset. They hunt for small moths, flies and midges, and one bat can eat as many as 3000 insects in one night!

Have you ever wondered how a bat manages to find all these insects in the dark? Well, I can let you into their secret. Although they have very good eyesight they aren't able to see well enough in the dark to catch their prey. Instead, they use something called echolocation. This means they make a very high-pitched sound as they fly around, and the sound then bounces off objects like trees and insects and the bat can build up a sound picture as it flies around. This is how they can fly around very fast in the dark without bumping into things.

If you would like to learn more about bats and their lives, why not come to one of our bat walks on the country park? We are running them on 6th and 8th August, starting at 7.45pm at the visitor centre. We have a bat expert coming in to talk about bats, and we will then go out for a walk and find bats as they hunt around the park. Please book in advance if you would like to come on 01245 321552. There is a charge of £3.00 per adult and £1.50 per child.