Bat Box Installation Day

Hi all,

Whilst not strictly gardening for wildlife as such, this is a story about the kind of wildlife work I like to be involved with, incorporating what I do in my job - which is to climb trees!

Last Sat (11 Dec) I offered my services to a volunteer group to install bat boxes at Coed Y Felin in Lisvane, Cardiff. Unfortunately as the only available climber the other volunteers on site were roped into (pun intended) acting as groundies for the day - but they actually quite enjoyed it I think!

Anyway, the trees chosen were large, mature oaks, one in particular that had lost a third of its crown and was very probably a haven for bats already. I also placed some boxes on a large alder that overlooked a pond that would be visited by bats for feeding.

I ascended the trees using the RADS set-up before swapping over to a normal DdRT system. I installed a rudimentary pulley system with a locking prussic to hold the plastic bin in place that I hauled up to me containing the boxes and tools.

I was there for about six hours and managed to install about 13 or so boxes. A return visit will be needed in the new year to fit the remainder. The big black box is a Schwegler woodcrete model that is supposed to recreate a bat's natural habitat better than the wooden variety - as well as being nearly bombproof and said to last at least 20 years.

 

These following photos were taken by a chap from the Forestry Journal magazine who attended on the day. You may read a little article about this next year.

 

It actually took longer to get installed than it did to attach the boxes themselves. The oaks with their epicormic growth proved troublesome to my throwline and the Big Shot catapult proved its worth more than once - as well as amazing the volunteers!

 

Wow, fantastic report there. Well done Sargent. :gnthb: