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.
Four more bats out on Thursday and one out last night...but one in.So on Thursday we managed to get two pips back to Woodacott,both had come from the same place after their roosting place had been damaged in a storm.It was more than likely just a stop over roost but it's all repaired now so at least they can use it again if they want.The first one flew off but waited for the second one,they then both flew off and were seen flying together around some oak trees before disappearing in to the night.
So off to release the next bat,this was the very underweight pip from just outside Holsworthy.He had piled on the weight since being in care and was flying great in the temporary flight pen but he was always looking for an escape route.
Next bat out was another pip,he was found down in the road in Boscastle.All the time he had been in care he was a very placid bat but once he knew he was near his home turf he just wanted to go.
Last night Mark collected a little pip that had apparently fallen from the sky.After chatting to the finders it is more than likely that the little pip had roosted up on a swing and when the children were playing on it the bat fell down.
He was dehydrated and underweight and was probably caught out by the weather.He is doing OK and is taking whole mealworms when offered.
Yesterday we had a call for a grounded Brown Long Eared bat in Canworthy Water.She looked OK and was just a little bit low on the weight side so not sure why she was down.Five minute after getting her home and settled in she was straight in the food bowl and feeding for herself.Hopefully she will be a quick turn around.Also on arriving home we were greeted by boxes from amazon by the front door.Many thanks to Lisa and John from Hartland for the terrarium,heat mats and cotton buds.
Tonight we managed to get 4 bats back out.A pip from Sourton,a BLE from Lydford,a pip from Germansweek and a BLE from the Devon Wildlife trusts building nr Halwill Junction.Again a big thank you to the finders for the donations.
Yesterday Mark had a call for a grounded bat in Sourton.It had been found at the bottom of a wall and the finder put a tile over it in a hope it would fly away latter.She is a pipistrelle that's a bit underweight but is eating well so hopefully it won't take long to get her weight up.
Sadly the BLE we collected from Launceston this week hasn't made it. Although he was self feeding and seemed he was on the mend there was probably some internal injuries.Poor little guy but a least he was warm and comfortable 😥
Today Mark got a call about a pip that was taken to the vets in Callington.After the vet looked it over they wanted to release it back out tonight.Mark said he would rather go over and collect it as the weather isn't great at the moment.Its a male pip that's a bit underweight but shouldn't take to long to get up to the proper release weight.
One Whiskered out one Whiskered in.last night we managed to get the Whiskered from the Manor House Resort near Okehampton back out.He was found in the lobby and only needed to add on some weight he lost due to being stuck indoors.Today his place on the shelf was filled with another Whiskered.This time it was a female juvenile that had been found grounded.She was taken to Penbobe in Holsworthy and looked over but managed to get away from the vet and fly around the prep room.....well we now know she can fly..She needs to be fed up but hopefully will be released soon.
On Friday we collected a little pipistrelle from Dolton.It had flown in a open window and roosted up,it needs a little more weight but should be back out again soon.
Just want to say a big thank you to the person who gifted cotton buds for the bats from our Amazon wish list.
Yesterday it was back to Tavistock for another grounded bat.This was a juvenile pip that was found on Tuesday and left out all night to see of it would fly away.Unfortunately the little bat was not only covered in cobwebs but had also been attacked by a cat.He Has a hole in his wing and a very badly swollen wrist and forearm.
Today we had a call for a bat that had been seen being played with by a cat yesterday.The finder retrieved the bat and put it in the boot of his car over night but it wasn't until this evening that we got the call.We arranged for it to be taken to Castle Vets in Launceston as we could get help for it quicker.Sadly we recieved a message from the finder that the bat had died.If we had got the bat sooner things may have been different.
Again if you find a grounded,injured or a bat in trouble please don't wait to get it help 😪
Now some better news,a Pipistrelle that Mark collected from Stratton after it flew in through a window and then was found by a house cat recovered and was released back home tonight.In typical bat release fashion it was "Thanks for the help and mealworm but Bye Bye".
On Sunday we had a call from Sam Nutt who runs SamBee's bat care in Turo.She had a call from a finder in Boyton and as it is closer to us Sam passed the finders details to us.Mark meet the finders at Redpost and collected the bat.It was a very quiet Whiskered bat that had been found grounded and not moving.He was dehydrated and underweight at 3.80g but after being rehydrated and then feed he is nice and noisy again.
One in One out,last night we released the Brown Long Eared bat from Trelash nr Otterham.He had been found down but didn't come into care for three days as the BCT helpline was not open during the Easter bankholiday.
On Friday Mark went to collect a bat from Sheepwash but sadly it was nowhere to be found.Although the finders had said the bat was secured in a box the box was not suitable for containing a bat.
If you find a grounded bat pick it up with gloved hands or in a teatowel and place it in a secure box with pencil sized air holes,a cloth for it to hide in and a milk bottle sized lid with water in it.Then put it in a quiet room away from children and animals and call Bat Conservation Trust or a bat carer for help.
It's been a busy time with the bats over the last few weeks.Now the weather has sort of improved we have started getting some back out.First bat to go was Beryl from Berry.Just a couple of fields away we could have released her from home.Next was Bruce from Sheepwash,he had been found inside the finders house after (we suspect) they had brought him in on some fire wood.The same night we managed to get the Pip from the Grange care home in Highampton back home after he was found down and covered in cobwebs.
The following day we managed to get the Pipistrelle from Halwill Junction and the Pipistrelle from Germansweek back home after both were found in bedrooms in the finders homes.
Last week we got the Pipistrelle from Marhamchurch which was found in a box back home and the female Pipistrelle from a holiday park in St Tudy home.
Yesterday was the longest bat release we have done in a while.First bat was a Pipistrelle from near Peter Tavy but sat nav took us on a lovely scenic tour of Dartmoor.Once we managed to find the house on a remote part of the moor it was of to Yelverton to release another Pip that had been catted.Next bat was from Bodmin which again was another catted Pip.Lots of miles and a late night but at least they are back where they belong.Sadly it's not all good news,we have lost a couple of bats.A Lesser Horseshoe we had come in that had been caught by a cat took a turn for the worse and passed away.We also lost the Brown Long Eared from Bude.It was never right since it came into care so it wasn't a surprise to find it had passed away.
The other day we had a Pipistrelle brought into us from Halwill Junction.He had been found in a bedroom on the floor and was not moving much.He is under weight at just over 3 grams and was dehydrated.We rehydrated him and after he was more stable started offering some mealworm innards but he decided that he was quite able to do it himself.We will let him build his weight back up over the next few weeks and hopefully get him back out.
Last night we released a Whiskered bat back to Lashbrook near Thornbury. He had come in a week ago after being found in a vase, but as soon as one goes one comes in. Todays bat was a young Brown Long Eared that had decided to roost up in the Parish Hall in Launcells. We think he was on the door and when they opened up he flew in and roosted up on one of the light fittings. We arrived and luckily they had a nice tall ladder which Mark climbed up and collected one sleeping and not to happy to be disturbed BLE. We got him home and as his weight was good and he was flying we decided to release him back tonight. Its sometimes nice to get a quick turnaround 😀
Even though we are still busy with the baby and juvenile bats and the injured adults we still have to get bats that are ready to go back out to the wild. On Sunday we released Lilly a female Pipistrelle back to Coads Green near Launcheston. She had come in with a hole in her tail and was holding her leg up. The tear in the tail healed and she started using her leg so as soon as we were happy with her and the weather was good it was time for her to go. She flew off beautifully and was joined in the air by her fellow roost mates which we discovered were coming out of a hole in a garage roof. The second bat was Demetri the Brown Long Eared bat that came in from Weare Gifford. He came in very underweight and was touch and go for a time. He took awhile to start self feeding but when he learnt he didn't stop and last night we released him back. Once he was gone it was back home for baby bat feeding time.😀
Bats come in but they also go out, last week we had another baby bat come in but it was very small and very emaciated and although we managed to start getting milk into it sadly it passed away not long after. As the weather was not too bad at the beginning of last week we managed to get some bats back out. First was the male Pip that came in from Bridgerule. He had decided to make a break for it the night before by chewing a hole in his pen but we found him roosting behind the curtains so rather than loose him in the house or him destroy another pen we got him back home. The same night we got another male Pip that had found it's way down the chimney at the Old Smithy Inn at Welcombe. The following day we had a call for a bat in Hatherleigh that had ended up in the toilet. It had be seen the night before flying around the bedroom and the finder left the window open and thought it had gone. But Loo-Pee-Loo as we called her decided to roost up in a toilet roll up until the finder needed too ( well you can use your imagination with that one) and plop into the water she went. Luckily she was spotted and quickly fished out a little wet but no worse for wear. As she was a good weight and was flying well we decided to let her go that night. The same night we also returned a male Pip that had come in a few weeks earlier that had been catted. To finish the week off we had baby number three arrive he had been spotted on a wall at a holiday cottage in Crackington Haven on the Friday, then on Sunday he was at the bottom of the wall. He was underweight but he is taking milk and starting to put weight on. Oh well back to sleepless nights 😁
Guess what day it is today. A few of you will know . 🤣🤪🦇