How to grow a banquet for British bats
21.08.2023 - 11:57
/ theunconventionalgardener.com
/ Emma Doughty
If we look out of our patio windows at dusk, we are sometimes lucky enough to spot a bat zooming around above the houses. We call it Cricket, although – to be fair – Cricket could be multiple individuals. It flies so fast it’s hard to keep track. In Feral, George Monbiot talks about the wonder we feel when we come face to face with wildlife like this. He feels it’s a transformative experience, and one that is now sadly lacking from our daily lives.
Those of us who tend a garden are closer to nature, of course. We may grow plants specifically to attract bees, butterflies and beneficial insects, and put food out for the wild birds. (We may also face a constant battle to protect our plants from the army of pests that would devour them. Although there are some people who would disagree, it’s hard to see the wonder in slugs.)
Bats are nocturnal mammals, and they make some people feel uncomfortable. But I had the privilege to stand in the fruit bat enclosure at the Cotswold Wildlife Park and feel them whizzing past my head, and there was never any danger of them tangling in my hair or crashing in to me.
Seventeen species of bat are known to breed in the UK. These British bats range in size from the tiny pipistrelle (at 4.7g) to the noctule, which can weigh up to 40g (roughly the same as 4x £1 coins). Even the pipistrelle can eat more than 500 insects in a hour. At this time of year, the females are giving birth to live young, which start flying when they’re around three weeks old. Adults will then mate in autumn, before hibernating through the winter.
Bats are threatened species, in large part due to habitat loss. Woodlands, ponds and open spaces where they can roost and feed are disappearing at an alarming rate, as are the
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