Halloween Special! Daubenton's Bats

Poem by JLM Morton for her residency at Waterland, Lake 32 (Cotswold Water Park)

Daubenton’s bats are regular visitors to Lake 32, where they forage for insects at dusk and dawn. Many of them roost in tree hollows and the derelict red brick bridge arches on the disused railway line nearby. They will go into hibernation in the coming days and weeks and re-emerge in spring.

As pollinators and insectivores, bats are an ‘environmental canary’ species which can warn of impending ecosystem collapse. In 2020 the global Covid pandemic was thought to be the result of coronavirus transmission leaping from bats to humans via pangolins. The impact of humans on the environment – not least through illegal wildlife trade - is driving the emergence of pandemic diseases.

We are lucky to have large populations of a variety of bat species on the Water Park which thrive on a super-abundance of invertebrates. If steps are taken to safeguard the habitats of this native wildlife, bats offer hope and solace for future biodiversity in the midst of our climate emergency. 

A Daubenton's bat (Myotis daubentonii) hunting for insects over water © Agami Photo Agency/ Shutterstock.com