Bats

Bat Spotting

Did you know there are up to 5 different species of bat living in the forest? You can see them flitting around after dusk in the summer months, especially close to the river.

Want to hear the sounds a bat makes?

Click here to download and hear an audio clip of 4 Pipistrelles just after they emerged for the evening, foraging for food over the river and among the trees along the river edge during the a hot spell of weather.

Audio: Jerry Sorfleet

Image: CC by-SA 3.0

Common Pipistrelle
Pipistrellus_pipistrellus

The Pipistrelle is the smallest and most common bat found in Britain - it weighs less than a 2 pence coin.

Image: CC BY-SA 2.0

Daubenton's Bat
Myotis daubentonii

You will notice these bats skimming over the surface of the river

Image: BBC Nature

Noctual
Nyctalus noctula

Britain's largest bat and usually the first to fly in the evening.

Useful Links

Find out more about bats at these websites:

BBC Nature

Bat Conservation Trust

Natural England