Helpston's wildlife

Bats

Clare describes children in Helpston watching bats fly over head on summer's evenings

On summer eves with wild delight

We bawled the bat to spy

Who in the 'I spy' dusky light

Shrieked loud and flickered by;

And up we knocked our shuttlecocks

And tried to hiy the moon,

And wondered bats should fly so long

And they come down so soon

Bats are thought to have been more affected by the intensification of agriculture than any other British animal. The felling of old trees and the loss of nesting holes in roofs and barns combined with the reduction in food sources, particularly beetles, have led to some species declining by over 90%.

Bats are very difficult to identify on the wing, but three species can still be found around Helpston and picked out in the summer sky with some confidence.

Pipistrelle bats are very small and can often be seen hunting over gardens and by the light of street lamps in Helpston itself. They make their nests in roofs and lofts.

Noctule bats are much bigger - about the size of a swift - and fly higher in the sky, swooping down to catch their prey above fields and hedgerows. Noctules have been seen recently at Bainton Pits and hunting over the fields at the top of Health Road and over Swaddywell and Ben Jonson Pits. They nest and roost in trees and can live for ten years and more.

Often called the water bat, Daubenton bats are also very distinctive in the way they hunt, flying low over water, searching for water based insects, such as mayfly, and sometimes even small fish! The main pit at Bainton is a good place to look for them in April and May.