Bats return

This is the first evening I have seen the bats hunting in the track since the track was cleared by the council and the vegetation decimated back on the Saturday 19th June. I have kept an eye out for them on many occasions since and I have been lucky if I have had a quick glimpse of a bat flying past.

Yesterday evening the bats were back, as least three I counted in one go. First observed at 9.45pm and they weer active until about 10.15pm when they must have moved onto another area. They circled the larger trees and bushes flying back and forth along the track and as before circling above my head as they returned back down the track.

Trying to get a decent photograph is proving to be a challenge as the flash refuses to work when they are seen again the sky. Occasionally one would fly out of the track and across the road, returning a couple of minutes later.

This evening they were there again, I went outside at about 10.00pm. I managed to get this picture as it flew past the flint wall. You can see the shadow of the wings on the wall behind.

A cropped version

Dirt track disaster

You may remeber my blog entries concerning the dirt track that runs past our house (for back entrances to houses that back onto it), Portslade Old Village

It's always full of bird activity, from sparrows and starlings to goldfinch, robin and more. A large bramble patch is alive with the buzzing of several bee species, hoverflies and also visited by butterflies. In fact last year I found a few painted lady butterflies there. The track also has visits from the occasional hedgehog and slowworms also can be seen from time to time in hot weather.

At night I have been watching bats, which spend about 20 minutes flying up and down and across the track before moving onto another feeding site. A handsome fox also uses the track to its shadowy shape can be seen exploring one bank then another patch of vegetation before eventually reaching our garden.

You can imagine my horror when I returned yesterday, after being out all day, to find the vegetation on all sides of the tracks had been decimated.

The bramble, full with more flowers than it has been for many years, almost ready to start to fruit has gone too. Several people in the neighbourhood would get our supply of blackberries here, people walking their dog as they went past would eat the odd blackberry and there would still be some left for the wildlife.

We managed to catch the people involved as they were leaving. It was a group of youths on community service, with a group leader. The leader said they had been instructed by the council to do this and when I queried it he said it had been done FOR the local residents. I don't seem to remember being asked or receiving notification that it was going to happen. The team was even provided porti loos

When I queried this they said that the track had been checked for wildlife and nesting birds - I can't imagine how they missed it all!

The track is much quieter now (only the occasional birds and no bees). I had previously done a survey for Brighton and Hove's Big Nature - Bee Aware.

This is what I recorded in just a 2 minute survey on the bramble opposite our house.

9 white tailed bumble bees, 7 honey bees and 1 brown carder bee

The bats I have only seen twice since, flying straight overhead, no foraging in the track and the fox looks very confused too. I have seen only a couple of Honey Bees in my garden since the bramble has been removed.

My concern is not just for my lost little haven but for other similar green tracks that may suffer the same fate.

Watching me watching you.

9.30pm and I went out to watch for the bats and fox. Sure enough, the bats were on the wing, again flying a couple of feet above my head as they turned round to fly back up the alley.

Suddenly a dark shape came out of the gloom. It was the fox. As the fox came to the end of the alley it looked out to the road.

It was almost parallel with me now when it noticed me standing behind the wall. It stared at me for about a minute and then sat down and we watched each other across the track.

We watched each other for several minutes before the fox got up and walked back up the track a short way and then sat down on a clump of grass in the middle of the track.

It seemed to think I could not see it. After a couple of minutes the fox crossed to the nearside of the track, past the garages and the other side of the wall where I stood back a short way.

I resisted the temptation to lean over the wall until it had gone past and I photographed it as it past our car.

Bats and foxes

Friday evening, 9.30pm and the bat was hunting in the track, again flying as far as our house and turning around and then flying past the house, only to return a few minutes later.

Bat marked by arrow (above) close up (below)

I went out again tonight to watch and sure enough the bat turned up. This time however, I saw 2 flying together. I suspected there might be more than one and this time I had the proff.

The previous days I had watched the bats until about 9.45pm when the activity appeared to stop. I decided to stay out a bit longer to see if they come back.

After about 10 minutes a bat flew back down the track. I watched it fly too and fro for a while.

I had also noticed a shape of a fox further down the track. It was using the track to travel in and out of selected back gardens. Unfortunately when it reached my end of the track, a group of teenagers went past noisily.

Disturbed it turned round and trotted back up the track and disappeared into the darkness