Working with animals is a labour of love and it doesn’t stop when the farm closes and the team go home. We love animals and have a great interest in wildlife, in particular our local wildlife.

Last week Farmers Craig, Gemma, Katie and Elle joined our good friends from the Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust and head into Sherwood Pines for a Bat Walk. This is an amazing chance to see, hear and learn about the many different species of bat that live in our region.

Farmer Craig was keen to tell us why events like these are so important. He said “It’s really important to survey how many bats and different species of bats are living in an area. Especially at nature reserves and beautiful places like Vicar Water. If the area has lots of bats then that’s a really good sign that there is a healthy eco-system too. Thats because there must be lots of food available like insects, worms and other invertebrates. This in turn means there’s lots of lovely vegetation”

This turned out to be exactly the case and the team saw lots of bats and a number of different species. The Wildlife Trust supplied some brilliant Bat Detectors and they were able to identify 6 different species by tuning in to certain frequencies to listen to sounds specific to certain bats.

As the Bat Walk approached sunset, The Wildlife Trust Team used a ‘Bat friendly torch’ to illuminate the lake. It has an orange light which penetrates the water rather than reflecting it and gave the team a great chance to see lots of bats. This was definitely a highlight of the evening and all of the White Post Team loved something different!

Elle’s Favourite Moment: “For me it was definitely the way they used the torch. It was a beautiful thing to see and a chance to see the bats displaying natural behaviour. I loved the Bat Detector too. My favourite bat was the Soprano pipistrelle, they’re small and very cute. I loved it so much I’m trying to get the others to club together for our own Bat Detector so we can go on lots more walks!”

Craig’s Favourite Moment: I learned lots so that was great. But I think my favourite moment has to be watching the Daubenton’s bats. These were one of the species we had identified on the detectors so I was really excited we got to see them hunt too. They were flying quickly over the lake and snatching food from just above and below the surface. Little flies and invertebrates. To see their hunting skill and prowess was a real treat”.

Gemma’s Favourite Moment: “Oh my goodness I loved all of it! I was so excited. The different noises the bats were making was just amazing. Sometimes the sounds were so clear you could even hear them eating after a hunt! It sounded like they were blowing little raspberries. So cute! In fact I got so into it I’ve actually inquired about being a Bat Rehabilitator. I have extensive knowledge of caring for small mammals so I’m really hoping I can get involved and help!”

Katie’s Favourite Moment: I got invited by Gemma and I can’t believe how much I enjoyed it. We managed to identify half of the species that live in Nottinghamshire which is really cool. I live very close by but this was my first trip to Vicar Water and I will definitely be going back because it was lovely. But my favourite moment of the night was just seeing how excited Gemma was. She was like a kid at Christmas. She loved it that much she’s booked another Bat Walk for next week!”

Thanks to the Wildlife Trust who we continue to work with. The team had a wonderful time and can’t wait to get back out into nature to explore our awesome native wildlife.

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