The Bats and Moths from Deopham

Norfolk Wild Nights walk on the 29^th of August 2015, started at St Andrew’s Church, located in the village of Deopham. The church built in the Perpendicular style over a period of 200 years and completed in 1520, was a great starting point for our walk. Upon entering the church, just as the sun was setting, we heard the distinctive wet slaps sounds of pipistrelle bats echolocating, which we identified as Soprano and Common Pipistrelles. This introduction was the perfect opportunity for the 8 local villagers who came along to join us, to tune in to the distinctive sounds and differentiate between the Soprano and Common Pipistrelle using the heterodyne detectors. In addition, it gave everyone the chance to enjoy the spectacular architecture and homely interior of the church.

Listening out for bats inside the church

Listening out for bats outside the church

Once we finished in the church, we headed down Church Road toward Nick’s Diner to listen out for bats. It was generally quite quiet, with a few Common Pipistrelles heard along the way until we headed down Victoria Lane, and stopped by a metal gate overlooking some pastureland. Here the activity increased. First we heard and saw some Soprano Pipistrelles, flying along the hedgerows surrounding the field. Then in between the calls of the Soprano Pipistrelles we head the faint ticking noise of a Natterer’s bat call, the chip chop calls of a Noctule bat, followed by the wet slaps noises of a Common Pipistrelle bat.

On arrival back at St Andrew’s we paused briefly by the side entrance of the church, to enjoy the view of a Common Pipistrelle fast erratic flight above our heads. Then on route to the moth trap that was located at the bottom of the church yard we passed the back of the church and picked up the calls of a Serotine bat, and the calls of a Natterer’s bat.

Common and Soprano Pipistrelle recorded on an
Echo Meter Touch/IPad

A Natterer's bat (Myotis nattereri) recorded on an  
Echo Meter Touch/IPad. Echolocation calls from the Myotis genus
are seen on a sonogram/spectrogram as vertical lines that cover 
a range of different frequencies. 

At the moth trap, we found we had caught a reasonable number of moths. Not surprising as the evening was mild enough. Moths caught on the night included three Brimstone moths, a couple of Mother of Pearl moths, a few Lesser Broad Bordered Yellow Underwings, Large Yellow Underwings, a Straw Dot, a Turnip Moth, a Willow Beauty, a Light Emerald, two Orange Swifts and a stunning Copper Underwing moth.

Identifying moths in the moth trap

The final pièce de résistance that evening though was the spectacle (and the continuous calls) of a few Common Pipistrelles circling and foraging above our heads as we were looking through the moths that we had caught. A grand finale to an evening which saw the group hear 6 bat species, including the Brown Long Eared bat earlier during the walk. 

Watching the bats circling above.

Thank you to everyone who came along. ^8^