Bats at Eccleston Mere

This evening I spent a couple of hours checking out the bats at the mere, between 21:30 and 23:30. The commonest species appeared to be Soprano Pipistrelle, broadcasting on 55KHZ, and there were probably at least 50 individuals. Next came Common Pipistrelle (45KHZ) and Daubenton's (50KHZ) with about 30 individuals each. Probably the biggest surprise was the high numbers of Noctule (20KHZ). Last year I only recorded about two Noctules, but this evening there were at least 20. Finally I had a single very faint call at about 35KHZ which was probably Brown long-eared Bat.

The main concentration of the two pipistrelle species was around the woodland along the south shore, though they were all around the mere. Daubenton's was primarily from the SE corner along the east and north shores to the NW corner, and also in the SW corner. Noctule was almost exclusively along the east shore, with just a couple of records from the west shore. The Brown long-eared Bat was on the south shore.

Also this evening, a good 300 Swifts and 50 House Martins and at least 10 zillion midges.