[ColinD]

Hi all,
Spent last night Storm Petrel ringing in North Wales. I'll post a full report on that later on, however during the night several pipistrelle bats were flying around, which all managed to avoid our net, but one bat, bigger than pipistrelle went straight in. I took a photo and wondered if anybody could identify it for me. We tentitively id'd it as Daubenton's, but don't know enough about bats to be sure. We were right by the sea in North Wales.

The bat was released ok and flew away happily, even if it looks a bit annoyed in the photo!

Thanks

Colin

[Brian Stone]

A 'don't try this at home' warning coming up. Handling bats, especially unprotected, is a real no no. See this article if you need convincing:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/2509375.stm

Sorry I don't have books to hand to help with the ID.

[ColinD]

Originally Posted by brianhstone

A 'don't try this at home' warning coming up. Handling bats, especially unprotected, is a real no no. See this article if you need convincing:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/2509375.stm

Sorry I don't have books to hand to help with the ID.

I don't need convincing. We were very wary of the bat. It was being held in this way to avoid tangling itself further in the net, while somebody else went to get the gloves. However, it needed to be removed from the net without damaging either the bat or the net, and this was successfully achieved.

Colin

[StuartReeves]

Don't have any books to hand, but from what I remember Daubenton's is paler underneath. The size and colour of this individual look OK for Noctule.

Stuart

[Nigel G]

Going from a Guide book I am inclined to agree with Noctule. A Daubenton has a wingspan of 10" and short ears whereas the Noctule is 14" and has larger rounded ears.

[Gill Osborne]

That's defnitely one very peeved Noctule

Looks even bigger than I remember seeing them...though I've never had one close up before.

Gill

[Jos Stratford]

Originally Posted by brianhstone

A 'don't try this at home' warning coming up. Handling bats, especially unprotected, is a real no no. .

Unfortunately, when mist-netting, if a bat gets caught, you need to work without gloves - it's a delicate job to realise either birds or bats and needs the 'finger feel'. Just need to keep your fingers the correct side of those chompers!