March 08 - Sydney Royal Botanic Gardens are having problems with a roost of Gray Headed Flying foxes - there are 11,000 of them which is damaging the trees and the droppings are burning the plants. Perhaps they should be happy that these are not Straw-coloured Fruit Bats who assemble in a roost at Kasanka National Park from October to January in numbers estimated at 8 million.
March 08 - Colony of female fruit bats have pups, staff at Tropical Wings nr Chelmsford may re-sex the colony
Feb 08 - new bat fossil, Onychonycteris finneyi, from 52.5 million years ago seems to support the theory that echolocation developed after bats learnt to fly
Feb 08 - report from Lund University - when bats hover that can produce leading edge vortices, providing up 40% of the lift force - this has only been seen in insects. If memory serves it is why bumble bees can fly.
Feb 08 - Wind turbines nr Bucklands Brewer, N Devon were rejected over fears of impact on Bats - Ecotricity said it would appeal against the decision.
September 2007 Plos One - paper on FoxP2 gene and a link to a role in the echolocational ability of bats. one of the authors is Prof Gareth Jones of Bristol University
25 Sept 2007 Canada - Tackling mosquitoes at Herrema Fields. In a report from Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority , "Uxbridge has stated that the mosquito colonies at Herrema Field are a problem for people in the area, particularly those using the sports fields."
The authority says the problem is a result of slow-moving/standing water and "clusters of cattail (plant) by the playing fields." The report concludes the cutting of the cattails below the waterline as well installing bird and bat boxes in strategic locations will reduce mosquito populations.
16 Aug 2007 - Bat roosting in phonebox in the village of Penelewey, Cornwall for full story see http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cornwall/6948704.stm
3 July 2007 Baby bats under threat from wet weather
One of the country’s tiniest mammals could be under threat from the severe weather conditions that have swept the country during the past week.
Calls to the national Bat Helpline are poised to reach record numbers, as an increasing number of people are finding baby bats abandoned on the ground or in their homes.
The Bat Helpline, run by the Bat Conservation Trust, receives almost 10,000 enquiries a year and provides free information and advice to anyone who needs help with a bat.
The wet weather could not have come at a worse time - at this time of year, female bats give birth to just a single baby (called a pup). The babies are tiny, usually around the size of a 50p coin. The wet weather means there are fewer insects for bats to feed on, which means they may not be able to produce milk for their babies. This can result in a higher number of bats being forced to leave their babies behind, or risk starvation.
BCT’s Bat Helpline worker, Helen Miller says: “The helpline is taking a lot of calls from worried people who’ve found a tiny baby bat on the ground and aren’t sure what to do. In this type of weather, the risk of babies being abandoned increases. In other cases, the baby can simply crawl out of the roost and fall to the ground or its mum may accidentally drop it while flying between roosts.”
“We would urge anyone who finds a baby bat to call the Bat Helpline straight away.”
British bats are most active during the summer. And this is the time when many householders discover they are sharing their space with bats, which have established a roost in their roof space or garden. The helpline provides reassurance and advice, and can even arrange a free visit for householders from a volunteer bat worker (on behalf of Natural England). After speaking to the helpline, most people are happy to keep their batty tenants, and some even volunteer for the Bat Conservation Trust’s National Bat Monitoring Programme by counting their colony each year.
In the UK, we are lucky enough to have 17 different species of bats, accounting for almost a third of UK mammal species. All UK bats and their roosts are protected by law, as a result of dramatic declines in numbers during the last century.
If anyone comes across a bat on the ground, they should contact the Bat Helpline immediately on 0845 1300 228. People should wear gloves if they have to touch a bat to avoid being bitten or scratched. Find out more about bats at www.bats.org.uk.
10 May 2007 - latest research, from a swedish led team, shows that bats are more efficient flyer at slow speeds than birds. This is because bats can flex their wing on the upstoke to create trailing vortices and thus they can generate lift on the down and up strokes - whilst birds only generate lift on the downstroke. For more info click here
New Scientist 12 May 2007- US data shows out of 2,500 kills at windfarms 60% are bats.
BBC webnews May 2007 - Demolition and clean-up work on a nuclear site in Capenhurst, Cheshire has revealed some hibernating bats. A colony of pipistrelles have been hibernating over the winter in a building due for demolition but in recent weeks have woken up and may start breeding. A British Nuclear Group spokesman said they were working with environmental experts to protect the animals.
May 2007 - The Latest version of the Bat Conservation Trust's E-Bulletin can be found here
May 2007 - Lesser and Greater Horseshoe bat have a new home in Harridge Woods, The Mells Valley, Somerset. A former Keepers Cottage has been converted and the surround woodland has been enhanced thanks to £100K project by the Somerset Wildlife Trust.
March 2007 - a paper finds evidence that bats activity is lower when a radar strength of >2v/metre can be measured the full paper can be found here. Citation: Nicholls B, Racey PA (2007) Bats Avoid Radar Installations: Could Electromagnetic Fields Deter Bats from Colliding with Wind Turbines?. PLoS ONE 2(3): e297. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0000297
Feb 2007 - Jersey Bat Group has reformed in order to protect the bats on the Island
Jan 2007 - The Bishop of Ripon and Leeds wants permission to relocate his offices - but the the outbuildings of Hollin House, in Weetwood, Leeds, are home to colonies of pipistrelle and long-eared bats. The Rt Rev John Packer wants to convert the space into offices and link it with the main house and chapel. Plans are being drawing up to create a bat run in the roof space of the outbuilding, also known as the Coach House, and install a heated bat box in another part of the grounds, used as the boiler room.
BBC news Dec 2006- A female greater horseshoe bat was ringed at birth in Woodchester Mansion, Gloucestershire in July and was ringed again on the Isle of Purbeck, Dorset, at the end of September, three months and 100 miles from her birth colony. Some long journeys have been recorded by male greater horseshoe bats but these trips have usually taken up to two years.
The Independent Dec 2006 reporting on the National Bat Monitoring Programme of BCT - evidence of a recovery in bat population numbers is a good indicator of the state of the British environment. However the level of recovery is very small when set against the estimated loss of population during the last 100 years. The Brown Long Eared Bat population remains a concern.
BBC Wildlife Magazine Dec 2006 - If bats need a drink during hibernation they will fly in sub-zero temperatures
BBC Webnews Dec 2006 - from a paper published in Nature - Researchers have found that Big Brown Bats can use the earth's magnetic field for navigation.