Hi Joe,
that's a brown long-eared bat (Plecotus auritus). One of the most beautiful bats in the Netherlands (although all bats are beautiful  ). It is quite common in forest and rureal areas although it is not often heard. Their whispering sonar is hard to pick up with a bat detector. It is a pioneer species - often the first species to occupy a new bat house or a new hibernation roost. I took this picture just before it flew away from my hand (which I photoshopped away). It was caught with a mist net at a research project about autumn swarming at hibernation roosts. Here's a different picture from that same evening:
I see them quite a lot in the (small!) bat houses that we use to do research on the distribution of forest species that are hard to hear / recognize with a bat detector.
That's also a topic I want to publish about in this forum, but right now I am busy with reporting on the hibernation caunts of last week. Although big bat houses are much better for nursery colonies, small bat houses mounted on trees can be very useful to gather information on bats that are otherwise hard to find.
For example, with my bat detector I hear aproxx. 10 times a year one long-eared bat during my survey in a nearby forest. And then I am not even sure if it is a brown long- eared bat or a grey long-eared bat. But in the the 25 bat houses I put there I have seen almost 30 bats during one visit! That was within 1,5 year after the houses were mounted so I am sure these bats were already there. But now I have to get on with my hibernation-report.... Post you later!
Erik
Last edited on Thu Jul 24th, 2008 10:03 am by Erik
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