bats-n-trees

sorry .was that bury saint edwards ?!!!

Hi stevie mac. The easiest way to know if you have bats in your tree is to stand -or sit as I do in a chair,with either a glass on wine.beer,loved one whatever and watch to see what comes out at dusk.Get yourself a cheap bat detector off ebay and give it a whirl.If you want to be more thorough then you need to have your tree under observation from about one hour before dawn.If any bats are using your tree as a roost then they will come back in the morning and swarm around the entry point ( a bit like bees round a hive-hence the term ).Alternatively contact your local bat club/group and invite them to do it. Your can enjoy your drink ,meet some interesting characters and still lie in bed till after dawn.Ah happy memories !!

In my wanderings I have seen a lot of ivy but the one pictured is the biggest stem I've ever seen .It is close to the veteran Ash I was measuring,and yes that is my walking stick -Don't ask !!! So can you better it ? and what is the view on ivy-friend or foe? MY understanding is that it only starts to become a problem to a tree when the tree starts to decline. And does complete removal affect the tree vis a vis surface temperature etc ? Can be good habitat for birds and BATS though !!

yes .But there is no mushroom over here !!!

Well hello again. Having finished licking my wounds from a previous mauling I have foolishly come back for round two !! Great instant photography to get those shots.Ideally for more certain ID of what bat species it is we need more pics and any observations of it's flight pattern,wing movements and speed etc that you may have managed to observe. Obviously if you had had a bat detector running at the time then that would have made things much easier,-but hey ho here we go. My view is that it can only be one of three species,Noctule,Leisler, or Serotine. I am currently going to say it is a Serotine. Why you ask? Well Noctules are the supersonic fighters of the the bat world.They fly high and fast -50kph has been recorded,and they attack their prey from behind in an aerial dive.Yes to confuse matters they will hunt small insects at tree height but their wing shape means they have to fly fast to keep manouvreability. Leislers are a relation of the Noctule but smaller.They hunt similar prey but do so at a lower level and at much reduced speed.I don't think your bat is a Leisler because it looks too big to me,although it is hard to scale it. Serotines are the other big bat species but have a much more leisurely flight pattern and tend to hunt a bit lower which is what your bat is appearing to do. I will be interested to see what your licensed colleague has by way of opinion. As a matter of interest the Bat Conservation Trust website has a few bat photos in their gallery.Photo 7 of the Serotine collection looks very similar to yours. The course was OK but I would be much more interested to hear about the forthcoming Ancient Tree Forum meeting if that is possible. Nice meeting you both and talking Arb etc .You turned out to be Fungis !!! Alan

Thanks for bringing me up to date ! gas canisters all used to look the same.But the top by the nozzle used to be coloured to equate to the different explosive force needed to drive the various sizes.I had a smaller Paslode gun as well for firing brads (skirting architrave etc ) so that might be where I remember the differences from. My guys inadvertently grabbed the nearest canister from the stores. Some interesting results !! Cheers

Hi Boys, Just remember these guns are in effect firearms ! Dont' use with people the back side of what you are nailing.But I expect you know all this stuff.Couple of tips.Don't mix the gas canisters as they are colour coded for the type and length of nail. And clean regularly-If I remember rightly nail polish remover was a good substitute for the proprietry brand. Finally when they start malfunctioning-especially in cold weather it is a sign of the O rings needing replacement.To save the £50 servicing fee and downtime ( although Paslode are excellent to deal with ) you can change them yourselves at a fraction of the cost.But do not fit ordinary O rings as they are not tough enough and will not last very long. Ring your local O ring stockist and get the higher quality ones. Hope this helps.

Here's some from out of town. .

Hi. here's a few from my territory. The first yew is in our local churchyard. the second one is one of the biggest and oldest yews in the country.note my colleague in the background and the girth measurement.Sadly it is on private ground and so cannot be viewed by the public and the location is not publicised.

perhaps we should have a tree surgeon/arborist on as a contestant .Any volunteers?

David, Thank you for giving me a way out with dignity by suggesting your fussy photo might have mislead me ! I could say I did my first post on the subject to see what response there was and what level of expertise there is on the forum .-But that would be a lie. Sitting in my lonely garret browsing the forum I was so overwhelmed to see a picture of a bat that I obviously got too carried away.Having read your latest post I now realise It is wise to be sure of one's facts before posting !! Having just returned from Spec Savers armed with more powerful lenses, cleaned some of the crud off my laptop screen, and adjusted the colour balance and pixel level of the screen I can see that I have made a fool of myself. -Must stop doing this !!! I confess when I first read your early post I thought the bat had emerged from the woodpecker hole and also mentally scaled the bat against this size wise.Your photo is indistinct in terms of many of the more common identification features between the bats.Subsequently you did say that it emerged from behind the bark and was a small bat when it flew away (although pips have quite a big wingspan in relation to their body size ). The photo I posted was definately a noctule and I have attached another photo now of the same bat.As you can see it is resting on the inside of the lid from a schwegler bat box. Please accept my apologies for wasting you and your learned licensed bet worker's time. I am down in London Thursday afternoon/evening.,perhaps we could meet up and I could buy you both a drink as compensation? I would like to answer the other questions you posted but the string is getting very long.Could I suggest we could start a "bat related " section on the forum.I could keep people amused for ages with "facts about bats" although obviously they would need checking for validity !!!! Now off for more liquid refreshment.

With regard to bats and trees. It is rare to find bats using any type of pine tree for roosting purposes.The reason is generally felt to be the resin factor.As bats land on the tree their fur will come into contact with the resin.This will then act as a glue to make subsequent movement and flight much more difficult.Equally as we all know trying to remove said resin is not easy using natural means. Ecologically speaking leave as much tree standing as is prudent for public safety.Adding a few nooks and crannies by mechanical means will be of definate benefit to wildlife. Hope this helps.

I'm a bit worried about the height of the examples in the first pic.Are you sure those slits are for bats ? !! In days of old when men were bold --- !! Windsor Great Park you say ? hmm. Second example much better, Ideally suited to high flyers.

sorry about the pic-I know bats are a prickly subject for some but it was an honest error ! Hopefully attached the correct pic to this thread.

Hello, Nice to see a bit about bats on the forum.I think you bat in the photo is a noctule not a pip.They fly high catch moths etc and like a clear flight path into their roost-which was probably the old woodpecker hole.Is that where it appeared from ? Other species of bats would also like to get in behind that loose bark Any chance you can cut a section with the woodpecker hole in it and locate it in on of the trees nearby in a similar orientation ? There are one day courses for Arbs about bats in trees and the legislation.I can give anyone more details it they are interested. Have attached a photo of a noctule in the hand for you to see the size etc. I am in Herefordshire but am always interested in Bats and other species. -and trees of course ! have done work recording veterans etc and part of an HND on sustainable Woodland Management. Keep up the good work. Alan Edwards. Edwards Ecology. 01531 660729 07531 216837. http://[email protected]: