It’s that time of year; those long, balmy summer evenings — well some of the time, anyway — and with them, as dusk settles in, comes the sight of bats flitting around the trees, over the water or round the house.
It’s a sight with a very long timeline as there is evidence of bats from more than 50 million years ago; rather longer than we’ve been around. It came as a surprise to me to find out that, as a species, they make up around 20 % of all the mammals in the world, and more than a quarter of mammal species in the UK.
Worldwide, bats eat, or live on, quite a variety of foodstuffs from fruit to nectar on the one hand to insects and blood on the other. There are some species of plants whose only pollinator are bats and that is quite a specialised, if not a little risky, way to exist.
Back to these shores, though, and it is hard to believe in these times, when it’s so many years since we made it to the moon, that we discovered a new species of bat in this country in 2010. The alcothoe bat is closely related to the whiskered and Brandt’s bat, but it is remarkable to think it had never been identified in this country before.
As with some other species, common does not mean it is just that — the common pipistrelle is not the most common we have here. It’s relative. The soprano pipistrelle is our most numerous and even that was not identified as an individual species until the 1990s. The soprano, as you might expect, has a very high frequency echolocation call and it is one that those of us with very good hearing can pick up at times.
Caves and tunnels
Denne historien er fra July 21, 2021-utgaven av Shooting Times & Country.
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Denne historien er fra July 21, 2021-utgaven av Shooting Times & Country.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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United we stand
Following United Utilities' decision to end grouse shooting on its land, Lindsay Waddell asks what will happen if we ignore our vital moors
Serious matters
An old gamebook prompts a contemplation on punt-gunning
They're not always as easy as they seem
While coneys of the furry variety don't pose a problem for Blue Zulu, he's left frustrated once again by bolting bunnies of the clay sort
Debutant gundogs
There's lots to think about when it comes to making the decision about when to introduce your dog to shooting
When the going gets rough
Al Gabriel returns to the West London Shooting School to brush up on his rough shooting technique
The Field Guide To British Deer - BDS 60th Anniversary Edition
In this excerpt from the 60th anniversary edition of the BDS's Field Guide To British Deer, Charles Smith-Jones considers the noise they make
A step too far?
Simon Garnham wonders whether a new dog, a new gun and two different fields in need of protection might have been asking too much for one afternoon's work
Two bucks before breakfast
A journey from old South London to rural Hertfordshire to stalk muntjac suggests that the two aren't as far detached as they might seem
Stalking Diary
Stalkers can be a sentimental bunch, and they often carry a huge attachment to their hill
Gamekeeper
Alan Edwards believes unique, private experiences can help keepers become more competent and passionate custodians of the countryside