Bat box checking in Thetford Forest

Fallow deer

Yesterday I went out with the Suffolk Bat Group looking at some bat boxes in Thetford Forest. You can't believe how many trees there are in the forest - it would take forever to sniff them all but I did my best. The boxes have been put up in groups of six trees - three per tree, facing south-east, south-west and north to get different levels of heat from the sun - and we checked 18 groups, a lorra lorra boxes!  We travelled between the sites, across the bicycle trails, forestry tracks and fire roads, in a small convey of cars throwing up the dust like a safari but without lions. We did see some fallow deer though, and an adder slough (skin), and a badger set. 

Noctule

Brown long eared

Each box was checked for roosting bats, and we found 86 in total - one noctule, three pipistrelles and 82 brown long-eared bats. They were taken carefully from the boxes and shown to Uncle Arthur to determine the species, sex and whether they were adult or immature.  Brown long eareds (or BLEs as proper bat detectives call them) are my favourite bats at the moment, cos I have got quite long ears as well.  BLEs tuck their ears under their arms when they are relaxing.

We put the sleepy bats back in the boxes but lots just flew off to find the boxes themselves.  Uncle Arthur says they don't mind being disturbed by us, but nobody else should do it.