Looking out for bats in East Devon

As a result of the valuable support of £400 from the Axe Vale and District Conservation Society, the East Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) has successfully levered £61,000 grant money from the SITA Trust for a three year initiative, ‘Looking Out for Bats’, to survey Greater Horseshoe Bats and enhance roost areas. The project builds on a pilot bat tracking project which culminated in a successful bat talk to farmers last October in Beer Quarry Caves.

Mike Ellingham, the AONB Chairman and NFU representative, said “This initiative will allow the AONB to work closely with landowners to find out exactly where these rare Greater Horseshoe bats live and feed. We will offer financial help with hedgerow and habitat enhancements close to these roosts, which are also an important feature of our protected landscape. This approach benefits the bats and our farmers, by rewarding them for their careful stewardship”.

Seventeen species of bat are found in the UK, of which seven hibernate at Beer Quarry Caves; one of these is the rare Greater Horseshoe Bat. At the caves, they are safely protected behind bars whilst hibernating but when they leave in the spring, little is known about where they go to feed or have their young, although they are known to roost in large roof spaces such as those in old barns and older houses.

‘Looking Out for Bats’ is a three year initiative which aims to find out more about the resident bats in the East Devon AONB, to work with landowners to improve their bat habitats and roosts, and to encourage people to learn more about bats in their neighbourhood. The project will run a series of walks, talks and even mountain bike rides about bats, as well as visiting local schools to help students find out more about the bats that might be found around their schools.

We will also be recruiting volunteers to help detect Greater Horseshoe bats whilst they are flying beside hedgerows and woodland edges and then tracking them to their roosts. Because bats are nocturnal, it is very difficult to trace their movements. We have to rely on picking up their echolocation clicks as they fly beside hedgerows and woodland edges, so we will be providing training and special bat detectors to volunteers so they can help us with this survey”.

Already through 3 events, at Gays Farm (Branscombe) and Lovehayne Farm (Southleigh) we have 28 volunteers who are helping to search for Greater Horseshoe bat maternity roosts. They include farmers, interested individuals and woodland owners from our East Devon Small Woods network. Greater Horseshoes feed along woodland edges and mature hedgerows. A bat trapping event at Offwell Woods has also been supported.

Funding of £61,000 has been provided by the SITA Trust, with additional contributions from the AONB’s Sustainable Development Fund, East Devon District Council, Devon County Council, the Axe Vale and District Conservation Society and the Sid Vale Association. The SITA Trust makes awards through its Landfill Communities Fund to improve biodiversity and the environment around landfill sites throughout England. Its funding comes from the waste management company, SITA UK.

If you would like to get involved with the project or find out more, then contact Pete Youngman at the AONB Office 01404 46663 or email pyoungman@eastdevon.gov.uk.