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Bats!

Sazz101Sazz101 Posts: 248
in Wildlife gardening

I’ve come here to share my absolute delight in having bats in the garden for the first time in 5 years.

We replaced two thirds of the lawn (small semi-D sized garden backing on to deminishing woodland due to housing development) with raised beds last year. Crammed half the beds full of bee friendly flowering plants. Put a small pond in. Stopped using roundup. 

Just seen a large bat circle twice and disappear under a tile on the house. All feels worth it. Totally made up ❤️

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Posts

  • bertrand-mabelbertrand-mabel Posts: 2,697
    Envy you. We used to have bats that roosted in old barns next door. Then all destroyed by developers and we haven't seen any since.
    We used to love to see them in the dusk flying around one of our buddleias to catch the insects. Miss them.
    Enjoy being totally made up.
  • nutcutletnutcutlet Posts: 27,445
    wonderful


    In the sticks near Peterborough
  • Sazz101Sazz101 Posts: 248
    Thank you @bertrand-mabel. I’m sorry you have lost them though. So sad 😞 
  • CatDouchCatDouch Posts: 488
    Brilliant news 😁 bats are wonderful creatures.  We have to close all our blinds in the evenings in the summer as we’ve had them flying around the bedroom on quite a few occasions 🙈
    South Devon 
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Love bats. We have a roost of several varieties in an SSI cave just 50m away from here … love to see them swooping low over the garden on a warm evening. One evening I lay on the grass and the bats were swooping low skimming my face as they caught the little moths in the garden. Amazing. 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • Sazz101Sazz101 Posts: 248
    That must have been magic @Dovefromabove
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    We've always had them round here, and when we lived round the corner in a different house, we had mature trees in the front garden. If we went upstairs and looked out the front windows we got a good view of them catching insects at night.
    Enjoy them @Sazz101 - a great addition to any garden   :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • Bee witchedBee witched Posts: 1,295
    One wall of our bedroom is mostly glass.
    We don't have curtains (very rural so no need) ... so if we wake up early we can lie in bed and watch the bats coming back to their roost in the slates above the largest window.
    I never tire of watching how skillful they are in flying back under the slates, although some of them need a couple of runs at it 

    One summer evening we counted 42 bats coming out of that roost. There's plenty of insects for them as we live on a river.

    Bee x
    Gardener and beekeeper in beautiful Scottish Borders  

    A single bee creates just one twelfth of a teaspoon of honey in her lifetime
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    edited July 2023
    We live between the bay roost and the marshes 🦇 🦇 🦇 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • ShepsSheps Posts: 2,236
    During the warm summer nights we have them in the warehouse at work, flying up and down the very long isles, feeding on the little flies in the beer section, the flies are attracted to the burst cans of beer and the bats hoover them up, it's a great sight as the bats come very close and swerve around you at the last moment and continue on their flight path.
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