Shebbear Bat Care

13/11/2024

A story has been circulated in several media outlets about the cost of a structure being built over part of the length of the HS2 rail line as it passes a woodland Site of Special Scientific Interest in Buckinghamshire.
https://www.bats.org.uk/news/2024/11/high-speed-2-bat-protection-costs

18/09/2024

08/08/2024

Should have added to last post a big thank you to Martin and Sarah not only did they bring the pip to us all the way from Exeter but they also gave us a wonderful donation. Also a huge thank you to Sam Nutt at Sam Bees Bats for her donation. It was a lovely surprise and will go towards the flight pen.
And a big thank you to all that have donated so far this year it is very much appreciated.

08/08/2024

The good the bad and the memorable. A few more bats have come in since the last post and a few have gone back home. Morwenstow,Hartland,Northlew,Ashbury and the Okehampton pip from the Rentokil warehouse all have gone home.The Ashbury bat was a interesting one as Mark held the pip up another bat flew in and flew around Marks hand until flying off followed by the little pip. But as one bat leaves another arrives, some more young pips have come in and a few Whiskered's.
Another memorable bat is a young Natterer's we have called Terf and Surf, l know it's a strange name for a bat but he was rolled up in some turf and as the finder unrolled it poor little bat was flipped into their pond.
Also in was a baby sparrow I found,we kept it safe over night and then passed it on to Sue Gear at Born To Be Wild.
Sadly there have been losses, three Natterer's two very underweight one's and one with a broken shoulder.Two Whiskered's one catted and another underweight one and some pips that were very underweight and one with a broken pelvis.

22/07/2024

PART TWO.
Sadly the BLE from St Melion passed away despite looking like she was picking up.
Thursday and another young BLE brought in to us. She was found hanging on a wall but has no injuries but is lethargic.
After flying the three drain pipe bats we decided to get them back home. The pipe had been removed so that no other bats could get stuck They were all released at the same time and flew off together.
We also released the sticky bat that had come in a couple of weeks earlier. He took his time to go but once others started emerging he was off.
Friday a call from a lady who had a bat roosting up on her curtains in North Petherwin. She had no idea how it had gotten in as no windows were open and thought it might have been in for over a week. Mark went over to collect it and try and see where it had come in. It was another young pip that was in good health. It looks like it might have come down a disused chimney. As it was healthy and flying we managed to get it back out that evening.
Before going to release the North Petherwin a call for a bat found on a rug in Halwill Junction. The finder had put it out on a chair,we asked them to retrieve it and secure it in a box and as we hadn't heard any thing Mark headed over. In the meantime the finder went to get the bat but it had gone. Mark arrived and looked everywhere but couldn't find it. Hopefully it was OK and just flew off.
Saturday NO BATS IN 👍
Sunday and first bat of the day collected from Hartland. A young pip found the night before and put out in the hope it would fly away. Mark collected it but on the way home had a call for a bat at Brandis Corner. This was a young Whiskered with one of its wings stuck together. It needs feeding up but it also has a bruised wrist.
Next call was for another young pip found grounded in Morwenstow. Again no injuries and just needs feeding up.On the way to collect that one Mark had a call from a finder in Bratton Clovelly. They meet at Halwill Junction, this was a young Natterer's but it was very underweight at only 4.2g and was covered head to tail in parasites. Sadly it passed away that evening.

22/07/2024

PART ONE.
Another relentless week on the bat front. Monday we collected a grounded female BLE from Penbode in Stratton,she looks OK but the finder reported he had seen blood so we are keeping a eye on her.
Tuesday we woke up to a message on the phone about a grounded bat. Luckily it was only a couple of minutes down the road. It's a young Whiskered that need to put on weight and strengthen its flight.
Wednesday, first bat in was actually found by Mark. So spiderman has spider senses and bat carers have bat senses.....not really but everything starts looking like a grounded bat,a leaf a piece of moss horse poo but this time it was actually a bat. Mark was driving down the road when he spotted something behind a drain pip of a house a couple of minutes down the road. He stopped the car in the middle of the road and gloved up,it was a Natterer's bat but sadly had a broken wing so unfortunately it was a trip to the vets. On his way there the second call came in this was for a grounded bat in St Anne's Chapel near Callington. This was a young pip with a very swollen wrist.
Third bat was brought to us from Ashbury it had fallen in front of the finders during the day.Its a older pip with no injuries but is underweight.
Forth bat ,so Mark had only just got in from Callington when a call came in for a bat that was seen in the finders garden but wasn't able to fly. We got them to capture it a put it in a box and asked if we could meet in Launceston as they were from St Melion near Callington.Sadly Launceston was just to far for them so another trip to Callington for us. This was a female BLE that was definitely unwell,she was malnourished,dehydrated and covered in fly eggs.
Fitth,sixth and seventh bats. The call most carers dread the multiple bat call. The finder had heard a noise in a down pipe and opened it up. Inside were the decomposed bodies of over eight bats one live bat flew off and three others were still alive. The finder brought them into us and fortunately they weren't in a bad condition. They were two adult female pips and one juvenile. After rehydrated fed and cleaned up they were settled in for the night.

14/07/2024

A week of ups and downs,a definite downer was the loss of the BLE we collected from Tavistock not long ago.After she had aborted her bady it looked like she had started to improve.We were hoping to get her back out but the morning after the thunderstorm the other weekend we came down to find blood in her pen.Lookimg her over we saw she had chewed her thumbs and edges of her wings to the bone.All we can think is the storm had stressed her out and sadly we had to have her euthanized. Another downer was a young pip Mark collected. Although the finder had said it was quite active when he arrived to collect it sadly it had passed away.
A young Whiskered we collected needs a bit of time in the flight pen as it wasn't great at flying but a pip that had been brought in was good so we decided to get it back that night.
The pip release was a bit of a definite up,we arrived at the finders just before the bats started to emerge. The first bat was seen so the little pip was raised up in a hope he would know where he was and fly off but no. He jumped off marks hand and landed on his front. Second try with more bat coming out he was raised up again only to fly over to a wall. One last try before packing up and heading back home with him. Mark held him in his hand and pondering whether or not to try again when little batty became very active. Mark raised him up and this time the little pip flew straight up doing a couple of circuits before heading to a line of trees and started flying around them. Then all of a sudden mum's and pups appeared all heading to the same tree line at which point we lost sight of our little pip.It was great to see young pups being taught by their mums how to hunt.
Another two pups came into care,first a young pip found on a house wall and with the hope the roost could be found there was no evidence of one. The finder had never seen any bats emerging from the house but we did ask if they could have a look about 20 minutes after sunset for a bit just in case.
Second pup was a BLE found in a kitchen but with no loft or BLE roost in the house the only place it could have come from was one of the many barns that were there.Sadly the weather was against us and we were unable to reunite.
Yesterday we collected a BLE from the vets in Callington he had a very nasty wound on his wing and some exposed finger bones but the worst wound was to his head. One of his eyes was hanging out and he was bobbing his head up and down. It was decided there and then to euthanize him.
Today and another very small Pip that had fallen off mum when she had flown in trough a bedroom window. The roost was above the bedroom and one of the entrances was found but some wasps were also using it. Not wanting to put the pup into an area with wasps another route was found and after hearing adults the pup was offered up and it crawled towards the calls.

08/07/2024

Another week finished with more bats added to the growing number.Monday Mark collected a female pip from westmoor vets in Tavistock.She was found under a tree at the primary school and has a swollen wrist. Sadly it looks like she had a pup back at her roost but there is always a hope that it's old enough and didn't need mum anymore 🤞
On Tuesday evening we collected two juvenile bats from lewdown. One had been on a wall for nearly two days and the other was found in a dogs water bowl that was outside and had water in it.Both were starving,dehydrated cold and wet. Both are doing well now putting on weight and growing nicely.We did try and find a roost for them and apart from one bat seen flying over the roof of the finders home no evidence of where these two came from was found.
Wednesday NO BATS needing help 😀
Thursday we had a call for a bat found in a wood burner. She was a juvenile pip but had been in there for some time She was was covered in ash and was weak and dehydrated and passed away before Mark got her home .We were brought a juvenile Soprano Pip that was found on the finders bathroom floor in Little Torrington. She was in good condition and was flying so after a little feed we took her back and got her back to roost.
Friday first bat call came in for a catted baby bat in Northlew.We went over to get it but it turned out to be a adult male Pip.Sadly for him it turns out he was caught twice.First he was caught in the evening and the cat let him go in the house,he flew of and hid only to be discovered by the cat again and left on kitchen worktop. He doesn't look like he was injured to much and apart from a slight hole in his wing and a bleeding ear he is all good. He's on antibiotics at the moment just incase but hopefully we will be able to get him out again soon.
Next call was for a baby bat found on the floor of a property in Buckland Brewer.The finders didn't know they had a roost but after looking around Mark spotted the entrance.We took the Little one home to feed up and went back that evening hoping to get her back. After another check Mark noticed another baby hanging from the entrance but it had been dead for some time.We were also informed that the finders had found a dead adult in the garden some time before which had been caught by their cat. Sadly we couldn't get her back so she is with us now.
Saturday and first bat was from the property in Ashwater that is having issues with bats coming in. We know the property and thought things were sorted there but the previous owners have sold it and not informed the new owners that they have a maternaty roost. We think the bats are coming in from gaps between the ceiling and beams. The new owners are slowly blocking the gaps so hopefully it will stop this from happening again. Anyway the little pip was all good and after a little feed it went back into the roost.
Just after getting this one back home another call for a baby bat in Yelverton.This had been out for two nights first night before being discovered and the second when the finders after being given advice to leave it out on a hot water bottle for an hour decided to leave it out all night.Mark asked if they could meet halfway but they wanted to try leaving it out for a third night. Mark told them that the pip needed proper care and feeding and they said they would meet.The finders had tryed feeding the pup with honey water and when Mark collected it the little pup was very bloated.He's looking better now and his stomach has gone down.
Sunday morning and a call from castle vets in Launceston.They had a bat in that was caught on flypaper.It is a juvenile pip that was probably just out learning before getting stuck.Afer a good soaking in olive oil and then some baby shampoo he is all good again but is a bit scruffy now 😄
Sunday afternoon and with alot of chatter on WhatsApp about three bats basicly being left outside for a number of days Mark couldn't leave them to suffer and went to collect them.They were at different stages but all were very much in need of help.After taking it slow over night with them they have turned a corner and are doing well now.

02/07/2024

It's been a crazy bat week with bats coming from here there and everywhere.Mark managed to rack up over 130 miles just on Sunday.So we had six pips from Ashwater that had come into the house via a gap in a beam sadly the owner wasn't there for a few days so we don't know how long they were in there for.Three were found in a bath and one in a shower but at least they had some water,two weren't as lucky and were touch and go but are doing OK now.
Mark meet a finder in Meeth with a baby pip that they had tried to get back to roost but failed.He then had a call back to Ashwater as another four pips had been found. Luckily they had entered the night before and looked in good condition.As we have been there before we know where the roost entrance is but didn't have a ladder long enough to reach it. Fortunately the finders had a pond net so with four pips in the net Mark managed to get them close to the entrance and all four just crawled off the net and back home.
We had a call for a baby pip found down in Villavin again the finders knew where the roost entrance was and we were able to get that one back.
Mark went to meet a finder from Near Saltash that had a pip pup that she had tried to get its mum to pick up but that failed.Sadly it passed away not long after getting it home.We also lost the baby Natterer's we collected the Friday before.
We went over to Pyworthy to collect a juvenile Natterer's found grounded. Unfortunately it had bitten the finder ( bats will bite if handled incorrectly and they feel threatened) so he is in quarantine at the moment but to tell the truth he is a very placid little bat.
We had a call from Westmoor vets in Tavistock for a Pip pup found in the high street but sadly have no idea of where the roost is so he is with us now.
Mark went to North Hill near Launceston for a baby pip that had been caught by a cat .Luckily the cat was so large that the pip was unharmed in its mouth but we don't know where it had come from.It was likely the cat had found it grounded and then brought it to the finders.
So to Sunday first call was from the finder near Saltash again with another pip pup.Mark arranged to meet in Launceston but on the way had a call from a finder in Lewannick for a Pip that had flown into the house the night before.So with baby pip collected he headed to the next but just before leaving had a call from the Ashwater house again for one pip they think had been hiding when the other four were found.
He arrived at the Lewannick bat and was taken to an old stone outhouse where the bat was. The finders were scared of it but managed to put it in a cereal box that was on its side.The little bat didn't like cornflakes and decided to push through the flaps and escape. Luckily Mark could see from a photo that it was an adult pip and was told it had been flying in their living room most of the night so hopefully it flew away that evening.As Mark got back to the car to head home he had a call from a finder in Welcombe.
So Mark headed over to collect the Ashwater bat then headed home to sort out the two bats he had collected get a cup of tea and change cars for a trip to Welcombe. Mark arrived at the property and was handed a very small Pip pup that looks like it had probably fallen of mum. Luckily the finders had not long had a bat survey done so the pips maternaty roost was known and after a feed it was returned.
So arriving home and thinking his day was done the next call came in for a baby bat found at the Dartmoor centre near Princetown. The finder had nearly hovered it up thinking it was a leaf but saw it move thank God.So feeling very tired Mark headed to collect it...By the way his name is Dyson 😁

24/06/2024

Another day and another female Natterer's pup.Found on the floor she is very dehydrated and malnourished.We will take it slow with her as she hasn't had any milk for some time and she is only taking small amounts at the moment.
Not sure how long she was down for but another one was found dead on Friday at the neighbours. Although there was lots of bat droppings under the porch where she was found we don't think the roost is there.It could be a area where the adult bats purch up to eat there catch as the droppings were in little piles on the floor under the beams.It could be she had been on mum and had fallen off when mum punched up.

23/06/2024

On Friday Mark met a finder who had found a adult pip and pup in his kitchen.As it was early in the morning he had placed both up on the roof above a window in a hope they would both fly off.Sadly when it was light he checked and the adult had gone but the pup was still there.The hope was that Mark could go over in the evening and try to reunite but the weather wasn't playing ball so Mark went over last night to try.With everything set up intime for the first emergence Mark and the family waited and hoped there might be some interest in the little pup but there wasn't.They waited until the adults started returning but still no interest.Not giving up they waited a bit longer and although there were the odd one or two adults coming out the pup was now to cold and Mark decided to call it a night.
It's a shame as the mum was with the pup and we could have hopefully got them both out if they had both been kept together.From the description the finder gave about the adult it sounds like she might have been injuried or was exhausted 😞
Today the first call was for what was described as a baby bat that had been attacked by a cat and it's wing was mangled.Mark got ready to head off to Hatherleigh but then had a call for another baby bat in Bude.This one was on the finders driveway but they were scared of bats and had left it there.Mark persuaded the finder to pick the pup up or get a neighbour to do it and get it secured in a box at least.So as the Hatherleigh finder needed to go out Mark headed there first and planed that if it was badly injured at least he could take it to the vets in. Bude after collecting the second pup.
So the first baby turned out to be a fully grown male Pip who has a badly torn wing and other injuries.Hopefully it will heal properly but it's going to take time.Once this pip was safe Mark headed to the Bude pup.Sadly this little pup was not in a good way.As well as being very cold he was very emaciated and dehydrated.Mark knew that sadly this little pup would probably not make the journey back home and before it even had a chance to get warm and at least something in its belly it passed away 😭
Another bit of bad news was the female BLE we collected from Tavistock that wasn't flying properly sadly aborted her baby.We had checked on her in the morning and she had something in her mouth.She dropped it and we realised it was a foetus.Although very sad she seems to be better in herself so maybe there was something wrong with her baby.

20/06/2024

On Tuesday we had a call for a baby bat that had been found behind a sofa.The finders thought it had flown in so put it on a tree on Monday evening in the hope it would fly away.Sadly it didn't fly away so they brought it back in and then the next morning contacted us.
We went over to North Petherwin and after initially going to wrong house (not our fault) we eventually found the correct place.The husband of the finder turned up and handed us a box with a very small Whiskered pup inside.The pup was very skinny and was very reluctant to take any milk when offered.Mark was shown where the pup was found and tried to find evidence of a roost but apart from a couple of droppings on the windowsill and the owner not knowing of any roost or seeing bats flying from the property.As the pup was in a poor state and not feeding we took him home.We have been taking it slowly with him but he is a lot better now and has taken to the puppy formula.
On Wednesday we collected a female BLE from Westmoor vets in Tavistock.She had apparently flown in through a window then down the stairs and landing on the floor.The plan was to hopefully get her back out that night but after chatting on the phone with the finder and after she describe how the bat was flying we weren't happy and brought her home.We flew her today and she definitely isn't flying right.We were concerned she may have a pup around but there is no evidence of any ni***es but she does look like she might be pregnant.
Today we managed to released the catted Hartland pip back home.This is how it was supposed to go....after rehydrating the pip he was held aloft and after warming himself up he took off and with a last wave of his wing as if to say goodbye he was seen perfectly silhouetted against the full moon.
This is how it actually went....with pip already warm and very active Mark took hold of him and after having to repositioned it as not to rehydrated the pips bum the pip felt Marks grip loosen enough and was off like a little rocket.With the finders eagerly waiting to see the pip he was already heading low across the driveway and then around the corner and over a wall and then he was gone.Its not how we wanted it to happen but at least he flew off and it's possible he flew back over our heads while we were all taking 😁

14/06/2024

On Wednesday we had a call for three bats found on the floor of Bradford All Saints Church by one of the bell ringers.They were handed over to another person who then contacted us,sadly one of the pups had already passed.We went straight over and collected the surviving two which were two female Natterer's pups.While I warmed them up and gave them some milk Mark was showen where they were found.
The poor bats had dropped around 30ft onto the hard floor and hadn't moved far from that spot.Looking up Mark could see the point that they had fallen through.The church roof was at that point was covered with wooden planks which had created a loft space above which the bats were roosting in judging by the droppings below and which were directly under the point where one of the planks had moved creating a gap.Mark looked to see if he could get a ladder up there but it would have been to dangerous and the only safe way would have been a scaffolding tower.
The whole church had droppings on the walls,floor,benches and altar so it looks like the adults were flying around the church before exiting and going hunting.So our plan was to go over that evening and set up a tall platform with the pups on top with the hope they would get collected by their mums.
That night we entered the church and set every thing up in almost total darkness and as we left we saw atl least one bat flying in the church.All I can say is a church at night is a very spooky experience and at least we had been watching reruns of Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Angle instead of the Walking Dead 😄
We went in every so often just to check the pups were OK and despite them being very active and very vocal they weren't collected.
We also walked around the church yard trying to find where the bats were exiting the church but couldn't see any exit points.We did pick up a Natterer's on the detector aswell as a noctule and something we didn't recognise but apart from that not much more.
We had planned to go over last night and try again but the weather was againt us.

11/06/2024

We knew it was going to happen at some point and yesterday it did......FIRST BAT PUP OF THE YEAR 😵‍💫
We had a phone call from Pas at Penbode in Bude that they had a baby bat in.She had been found by a couple who were on holiday on St Kew Highway.They had taken the little pup to Penbode in Camelford who then passed her on to Bude.Pas asked Mark if it was easier for the pup to be taken to Penbode in Holsworthy so vet number 3 for little batty.Like a well oiled plan Mark arrived just after little pup so after a nice fill of puppy milk Mark and bat set of home.
We contacted the finders and arranged to go over that evening to see if we could reunite pup and mum.
We arrived at the holiday let and set up our reunite equipment and placed the pup on it just in time for the first bats to leave the roost (this was to see if any bats took an interest in her as we could see there was no way we could offer her up to the roost with out some big ladders and long arms).Sadly none of the bats took any notice in the pup and although she was very active and warm we didn't hear her calling on the bat detector.We waited a bit longer until adults started returning and still no interest so we called it a night.
The house was very close to the A39 and sat down from the road,we did notice that some of the adults flew straight from the roost and low across the road to the woods on the otherside so it is possible that mum may have been hit by a vehicle.
Little Doris is doing well although she gave us a fright this morning when we couldn't find her.Some how she had managed to get inbetween the pouch outer cover and the lining and we had to cut it open to retrieve her...not that it bothered her.Many thanks to Paul and Sam for getting her help and for the donation for Shebbear bat care.

07/06/2024

On Wednesday we had a call for a grounded bat in Holsworthy.Mark went over to collect it,she is a female BLE but has injured her wing. By Thursday things were definitely not right as she had started bleeding and a lot of body fluids had appeared under her and she was very restless. Sadly it looks like she has miscarriaged and there was a possible foetus on the floor of the container. The bleeding had stopped now and she is taking a little food but she is not a happy bat 😢
On a better note the pip we collected from Great Torrington a couple of weeks ago went back home last night. He flew off up the lane and then came back over us a couple of times before disappearing.

03/06/2024

The start of a new month and another Noctule. He was found grounded at Grimscott near Kilkhampton. Despite him being just over minimum summer release weight his body condition told a different story. He was very sunken in,very dehydrated and starving. He also didn't sit quite right although there were no visible injuries. We got him rehydrated and then offered some food which he took with no problem. Sadly this morning he had passed away. Its a real shame as he looked like he was a real character with lots of old scars around his face and holes in his ears. It could be that he was a old bat and he was just at the end of his life or he had been injured and had tried getting back to his roost by crawling. If he had made it he would have definitely been called Al as in Al Capone what with all his facial scars.

31/05/2024

So since the last update we managed to get one more bat back home.It was a male Pip that had been caught by a cat. Mark took it over a couple of week ago,he said it was a perfect night with lots of bat flying around.
One bat out but more in,first bat in was another male Pip from Great Torrington.He had been found grounded on a path but there were no injuries,he was slightly underweight but not much.He does fly so we will hopefully get him back out again soon.
Next bat wasn't so lucky,she was a pregnant Pip that had been caught by a cat. She was from Bere Alston but Mark meet the finder halfway.Sadly her wing was broken and from the looks of it she had been down for a few days. Unfortunately she needed to be euthanized and as she was pregnant that was a loss of two bats 😢
Next bat was a bit unexpected Mark went to collect it all prepared for a Pip but when he opened the box he was faced with a large Noctule.One of his wings has been badly torn in multiple places,he was very dehydrated,thin and not very active. After getting him home he started to pick up and once rehydrated he started to self feed. Hopefully he will heal but it is going to take time.
Tuesday and a call from Rentokil in Okehampton. They had found a Pip on the floor in the reception area.He is a very small Pip and we don't know how he managed to get in there as it is quite a secure area with fire doors separating other areas. All we can think is he had roosted up on the front door and had fallen to the floor and wasn't noticed Unfortunately for him it was the bank holiday weekend so he was in there for a few days. We took it slowly with him at first rehydrated him before offering food but he soon started self feeding so we will give him time to build his weight up.
Sadly today's bat was D O A ,it was a female pip that was found on its back on a driveway. Although it was only 5 minutes away by the time we collected her she had already passed. Not sure what had happened to her as there were no visible injuries and her weight wasn't to bad. Again as she was a female it's possible she was also pregnant so that's another loss of two bats.😢