Pre thinning our Century old Oaks to rejuvenate our little wood, we need to establish wots going on with regards to bats. Bats are protected (£5000 fine if you kill or destroy the nest or habitat of one, per offence). I've contacted local bat groups who are going to come out and do a visual survey of the trees and chip in their pennies worth, but thought I'd pass on what I've digested so far.
There are 17 bat species in the UK. Most common are Pipstrelle and Long-Eared. They tend to roost and breed in 'dark places', which from a woodland perspective can include holes in old trees and cracks in gnarled broken upper boughs. They have some similarities to birds in that they reproduce in the spring (another reason to leave the woods alone in the spring) , they partly hibernate in winter, coming out every few days to feed, and which part of the wood they fly in will depend on the species, some are found on the margins, others in the denser bits. To do a full bat survey would involve a specialist going up the individual trees and looking with camera equipment down the holes and cracks. This is very expensive. An easier way to find out what you have is a bat detector. A good little heterodyne detector such as a Magenta 4 will cost about £60 on fleabay. Each bat species has a different call frequency, and this device will establish up to a point which ones are present and in what numbers. Where exactly they are roosting needs further observation.
I think anyone responsible who wants to fell a large tree not only needs the right license from the FC but should also give careful consideration to species potentially using 'said tree as habitat, such as woodpeckers, bats, etc. If you do find Bechstein bats, your woodland instantly becomes an SSSI, and you have to enthuse about and protect what is very special. If we find anything special, the management plan changes accordingly and we do the responsible thing of leaving their habitat intact, or even enhancing it by providing further accommodation for them.
Will advise how we get on. Quite excited to get out with the detector. Hope we don't have any of the Transylvanian coffin occupying variety, don't think the Magenta 4 detects those, although we're not short of nice sharp Hazel stakes !
