North East Scotland Mammal Network

by Jack Hudson

The bat walk at Haddo House was incredibly interesting, educational and entertaining. We met at 8pm, and with sundown expected at 8.50 we had time to explore before it got dark and bats started leaving their roosts.

Aileen started off the walk by equipping us all with and explaining the use of bat detector devices, which pick up the frequencies of the bat chirps and amplify them so we can hear them. We used these to understand where they roost and feed, you can see them in use in the video of the detector. We moved onto some trees that had been conserved to preserve the bat roosts on them, while Aileen was telling us about bat roosting behaviour. 

In the courtyard of Haddo House Aileen pointed out where the bats would appear from.  The flat roof of the buildings have a permanent protected roost of up to 1000 pipistrelle bats.  Using the detectors we could hear the bats starting to wake up and move around, working out which bats are bravest / daftest to leave first.  

Just before sunset Aileen showed us where long-eared bats had previously roosted.  Looking up into the door lintel we could see 5 or 6 perching above us. It was exciting to be so close to the bats and see exactly where they roost. We were also shown some bat cadavers – it was fascinating to be able to see the different parts of their anatomy, and to understand our common mammalian origins.  

Once the sun had set we returned to the courtyard as the bats were leaving their roosts. It was amazing to see them all fly out, one at a time right in front of us, which you can also see in the videos. The chirping on the bat detectors was also really interesting, as we could hear them communicate right as they were about to fly out. As they flew out the sounds changed to allow them to navigate.

We then walked to the old pheasantry and beside the lake where we could again see bats flying over the water and hear them on the detectors. We had hoped to see some other species flying low over the water but were unlucky.  There obviously hadn’t been a recent hatching of midgies for them to feed on. Aileen was incredibly knowledgeable and clearly knew the area really well, making for a fantastic evening. Thank you very much! 

Jack Hudson is a recent graduate of the University of Glasgow, where he studied Zoology. He enjoys volunteering in outdoor environments and is interested in Ecology, wildlife conservation and park ranger services and is currently aspiring for a career in these fields.