Fly by Night - Bat and Moth Night, September 2015

We had a fabulous bat and moth night on Saturday 5th September. We had a great number of visitors of the human variety, and some very obliging bat and moth visitors too.

We started the evening at Nature's Reach with a really informative presentation about bats from Morgan, our expert. We learnt all about bat behaviour and the various beasts we can find both here and worldwide.

Bat Detector (Tim Hunt)

Then we got our mitts on the super-cool bat detectors! Morgan treated us to a few different types, some relatively simple: detecting bat sounds based on the frequency they were tuned to, and some a bit more techy: capable of recording a number of different bat sounds, all at the same time, for analysis later on.

Bat Walk (Tim Hunt)

And so we were off! We walked down to the hide and within minutes, we had bats! We stood on the path by the Mini Beast Meadow listening intently to Morgan's instructions on using the detectors and were quickly interrupted by our winged friends flying overhead. We saw several pipistrelles on our way down to the lakeside hide and were treated to lots more, while shining our torches out across the water.

Toads in the hole

Before heading back up to see what moths were about, volunteer (and regular blogger) Tim spotted some more obliging beasts hanging out in the bee bank. We saw the unlikely trio of two newts and a toad sharing a hidey hole and plenty more scattered about the slope.

Moth Trap (Tim Hunt)

On our return to the visitor centre, butterfly and moth expert, Mike gave a brief talk on what we'd be likely to find and gave some great tips on identification. Then it was off out to the moth traps. We were quite early for our winged friends but still managed to see a good number.

Large yellow underwings were out in force and we had a fabulous swallow prominent. Small square-spots made a good showing, as well as a silver y, a couple of copper underwings and old ladys.

Large Yellow Underwing (Chris Shields www.rspb-images.co.uk)

We also had phoenix, flame shoulder, white shouldered house moth, double sqaure-spot, setaceous hebrew character, angle shades, six-striped rustic, common rustic and flounced rustic.

A fantastic night was had by all and we can't wait for the next one! A big thank you to Morgan, our bat expert, and our brilliant team of moth-ers for making it possible.

Jenny, Connecting People and Nature Intern.

Mammals and Monsters - October Half Term

October half term is fast approaching and we've got lots of delights in store for our fabulous visitors.

We kick off with Marvellous Mammals on Sunday 25 October, from 10am-12pm. We have small creature expert, Nick, dropping in to lead a morning of finding out all about our furry friends. We'll learn about the habits and habitats of mice, voles and shrews, along with their life cycles and what their preferred bite to eat is.

A little later, we'll set off on an expedition around the reserve, to see whether we can find any four legged lovelies. We'll make notes on where we find them and how we can help them thrive both at home and out in the countryside. Booking is essential, so please call 0121 357 7395 or email sandwellvalley.rspb.org.uk to secure your place. Find out more, including prices, by clicking HERE.

Bank Vole (Tim Hunt)

Wednesday 28 October sees the start of a 5 day long celebration of Halloween, with our Bat Trails! Take a trip around the reserve, answering spooky questions and decoding creepy clues. Collect all you need and you'll earn yourself a ghoulish prize on your return to Nature's Reach!

No need to book, just drop into the visitor centre on any day between Wednesday 28 October and Sunday 1 November and for just £1 per person we'll give you everything you need to get you on your spooky way.

Rahul Thanki (www.rspb-images.co.uk)

Then after all that excitement, we'll be really geared up for our family Spooky Halloween Walk on Saturday 31 October, the night when all the ghosts and ghouls come back to life! We'll start our descent in the hair-raising world of the reserve at 5:30pm, meeting the creepy crawlies that call it their home on the way.

There'll be a range of spine-tingling activities to get the goosebumps going, then hot drinks at Nature's Reach to bring us all back to life.... Mwohahaha! Click HERE for more information... if you dare!

Eleanor Bentall (www.rspb-images.co.uk)

If you'd like any extra information on any of the above events, or about the goings on at RSPB Sandwell Valley in the lead up to Halloween please don't hesitate to get in touch.

We look forward to welcoming you to Nature's Reach for a week of mammals and monsters!

Jenny, Connecting People & Nature Intern, RSPB Sandwell Valley.

Fly by Night - 5 Fun Facts about Bats!

We've had a fantastic response to our Fly by Night - Bat and Moth Night on Saturday 5th September and we're now fully booked! Thank you to everybody who has enquired and we look forward to welcoming those of you with a space on Saturday.

After our recent blog Fly by Night - 5 Fun Facts about Moths, we didn't want to leave our flying furry friends out, so here are 5 facts about bats...

1. There are around 1100 species of bat in the world, the only flying mammal. Some of them can fly at speeds of up to 60mph and some can live to 30 years old!

2. The largest bat in the world is the flying fox. Found in Indonesia, they have a wingspan of 5-6 feet! In contrast, the smallest is the bumble bee bat, which resides in Thailand. It is just 29-33mm and weighs in at a teeny weeny 2 grams. The smallest you'll find in the UK is the pipistrelle, it's appetite however, does not match it's size...

3. The pipistrelle is a greedy little beast, it can eat up to 3000 insects in just one night!

Pipistrelle Bat (Chris Shields - www.rspb-images.com)

4. All UK bats use echolocation to find their way and their prey in the dark. This involves sending out high frequency calls and analysing the sound that bounces off objects around them. Clever, huh?!

5. Vampire bats are named after the bloodthirsty creatures in mythology, such as Bram Stoker's Dracula. However their saliva actually contains an anti-coagulant (conveniently called draculin) which may be able to help combat the causes of stroke and heart disease. Yay bats!

(Robin Boutell - www.rspb-images.com)

We're sorry if you didn't manage to grab a space on our event this Saturday but make sure you look out for the winged lovelies at home too. They're often spotted flying battily about in gardens nationwide!

If you've seen any in your own garden we'd love to hear about it on our Facebook page and Twitter!

Jenny (Connecting People and Nature Intern)