Bats

[richy_ok 1]

I visited a friends caravan at the weekend and was amazed at the size of the bats we watched, these bats must have been almost blackbird size. There was a lot of flying beetles out and these bats were having a field day, anyone got any ideas what species they are ? Shropshire area , i would guess the nearest roosting site would be a pine forest .

Ta, Rich.

[bullmastiff 615]

Might of been a lesser Horseshoe bat? their fairly common in that area of Britain. and can seem pretty big as they whip past you.

Or if it really was blackbird size (35-38cm wingspan) then how about a Noctule? they can have up to a 40cm wingspan!

http://www.worlddeer.org/britishbats/noctule.html

[richy_ok 1]

Thanks for that Bullmastiff, i would have gone for noctule until reading they hunt high in the air. These bats were much bigger than the ones i see around my area possibly twice the size, but the habitat is certanly right .

ALB Rich.

[billybunter 72]

could well be a noctule bat they are one of the biggest british bat species

with a wingspan of 3 to 400 mm and they are tree dwellers

[blacktabs 3]

sounds like greater horseshoes noctules fly the trent valley near me and they are more pidgeon size and like you say high in the air first time i saw one thought it was a fruit bat lol.