General Chat

Last night at dusk i sat in the garden in my nightie, watching the bats, we have loads of them and they are fascinating to watch, they are so fast at catching their prey. It was really refreshing in the night air. Now you all know it Yep i'm must be batty as fruit cake, lol sandra

I've never seen a wild bat. To have them in your back garden must be great.

used to get bats in hertfordshire where i used to live.was a little bit weary of them because even though they don't go by sight but by vibration always thought they would go into me.

Aren't they great to watch, Sandra. We have a street light fairly nearby and I love to watch the bats as they swoop on the insects that are drawn to the light...... Go out again tonight and you may see shooting stars too!!

When my daughter was just a baby I used to plonk her in her rucksack carrier and go bat-watching with the local bat society to nearby Elvaston Castle. Its home to something like 8 of the 9 species we get in England (I think the numbers are right, but correct me if I'm wrong...) Was a fascinating evening every time, and the people heading the walks could tell you anything you ever wanted to know about the batty little creatures!

We have bat watching walks near here by the Royal Military Canal. They are really popular with the youngsters who look for glow worms on the way home.

My friend works at a nature reserve and not long ago she had the task of putting bat boxes up. These are for bats to nest in. She couldn't find the brackets to fix them to so they improvsied. The next day a work colleague who had been off the day before asked how they got on with the boxes. Fine she said but there were no brackets. He burst out laughing and said they were inside the boxes! So they all had to come back down. There was no room left insdie for bats!! Jane

I did my housework this morning in my nightie, does that make me as batty as you? Hubby and I always sit outside late evening having a nightcap. All I ever see is moths! Jo.

I love watching bats too. We occasionally get one in our garden and it fascinates me. When I lived in Lincolnshire we used to get lots around our house. One flew in my parents' bedroom one night and my dad tried to catch it with his shirt as my mum hid under the bedclothes. I secretly hoped it would turn into Christopher Lee (watched too many Hammer Horrors when I was younger!).

thankyou for your replies, were all BATTY, i just love nature plants and animals etc, and its a great way to relax. As for shooting stars i have been lucky enough to have seen some and a wish but it hasn't come true as yet lol sandra

We had bats in our loft at our last house, which was a modern house, and of course you can't do anything about it because they are a protected species. Frightened us to death when we used to go up for suitcases, etc. We moved about 7 years ago and much to our amusement it was a selling point!!!! Often wonder how the new owners coped.....

Theres going to be a programe abouts bats on BBC 1 next Weds at 8.30. I love them too - 14 species have been recorded in Britain, although some are very rare and some are only found in England and Wales and 1 species I think only in Ireland. Sue

When i lived on the farm we had bats, also we used to put plums (what is it with me and plums) out in the back yard and the foxes used to bring there cubs for a feed, when the plums were finished we got grapes from the supermarket, we would sit for hours in the bedroom window watching them, how batty is that. David

hi all sue i'll keep an eye out for the bat programme david obviously plums were your thing from an early age, my neighbour feeds the foxs, and i can often hear them calling in the early hours, last year i stayed in a friends caravan for a couple of days and about 4am their was a fox and cubs playing and calling to each other i watched out the window it was fascinating. Also several years ago, i clouted my son round the ear, for keeping on with a squeeking noise, he swore blind it wasn't him, he was telling the truth, i thought we had mice, but when i looked out the window where the noise was, a mother hedgehog was calling her young and she and 8 babies were making their way through the garden. My parents have a badger that visits their garden and a squirrell and they get fed daily. lol sandra