Waterstead Ln
Whitby YO21 1PF
NZ895103
This a event organised by Wendy English of Whitby Nats.
Last year, a bat roost was disturbed by building work on the drive of Airy Hill Manor. The area is heavily used by bats for foraging. To date the only bats detected are pipistrelles, but the roost in a tree implies there’s probably other species in the area. Residents in an apartment in the main building also suggest there could be a pipistrelle roost above their flat.
We have agreed to come to help Whitby to help do a thorough survey of the Manor grounds, hopefully to locate any roosts, and to identify which species are in the area. The manor grounds are adjacent to the area that Paul Armstrong of Airy Hill Primary School is managing as a nature reserve. Paul has agreed that that area can also be monitored.
Wendy has a super bat recording equipment c/o the Sirius Foundation grant, and managed to acquire a 2nd bat detector. We also have bat recording equipment and a couple of spare detectors. We would like about half a dozen people to help with the survey stationed in different points in the grounds, looking out for bats with the aid of a detector. Don’t worry if you haven’t used a bat detector before – this is your chance to have a go, and you won’t be expected to identify the bats you see/hear. With enough people, we should be able to work in pairs.
We are going to do the survey on 22nd May, as Paul will be at the school that night putting out small mammal traps. Sunset that night is 21.13. The survey will start around 9pm, and continue for at least 1.5 hours.