The Bats

Bats are truly amazing creatures, the only true flying mammal in the world.

Recent bat surveys have shown roosts of Pipistrelles, Leisler, Noctule, Greater Horseshoes, Brown long-eared and Daubenton’s bats in Wandsworth Park. This is a substantial proportion of the UK’s seventeen resident bat species. 

What makes Wandsworth Park the perfect home for bats? The dark canopy & a rich hunting ground catering to different bat species makes it the ideal home. 

Bats use trees as roosting sites throughout the year, whether it is for breeding in the summer, mating in the autumn, hibernation in the winter or as temporary rest all year around. 

Different bat species have distinct feeding habits: brown long-eared bats hunt insects on vegetation and in tree canopies, while noctules feed on insects above the canopy. Meanwhile, pipistrelles tend to fly close to shrubs and smaller trees and the Daubenton’s bat typically feeds over water. 

Bats use features such as avenues of trees, treelines along waterways, railways lines and gardens when flying between roosts and feeding areas. This is especially important in the urban environment where parks provide safe, dark corridors at night for bats to fly through otherwise well-lit and built-up areas.

Many of the UK’s bat species have declined significantly over the last century which is why they are legally protected. Artificial lighting negatively affects bats by disrupting their nocturnal behaviour, making them vulnerable to predators, and potentially causing them to abandon roosts.

The absence of artificial lighting makes Wandsworth Park a haven for bats. 

Friends of Wandsworth Park run bat walks in the spring & summer months, please do keep an eye out for announcements.