Eavesdropping on Bats
John Mears listens in

My interest in bats started with lock down. Finding time on my hands at home, I cast around for a project. As a teenager I had dabbled in electronics and embarked on various projects which typically remained unfinished, because I lacked the equipment I needed. One project was a bat detector, which I started on when I was about 14. This remained unfinished as life got more serious and I needed to pass exams, go to college and so forth.

I had noticed that bats visited our garden in Fitzharrys Road and I was curious what they were. I realized that I had enough knowledge to be dangerous in the various areas needed to design and build a bat detector. These include electronics, firmware, PCB design, soldering of microscopic electronic components, and digital signal processing. This project turned out well, and I have used the resulting detector to detect and identify bats locally and further afield.

Some highlights have been the discovery of rare barbastelle bats in Bagley Wood, many sightings of Daubenton’s bats flying low over the Thames by St Helen’s Wharf, and further afield, rare lesser horseshoe bats at Dore Abbey in Herefordshire. My recording of noctules in Albert Park was featured on Radio 3.

I am often to be found at dusk in my back garden, with the bat detector and a glass of wine, awaiting evening visitors. More details can be found on my bat blog: https://fitzharrys.wordpress.com/