Hart Residents Enjoy Wild Night at Hazeley Heath

On Saturday 28th of July at Hazeley Heath the countryside rangers had great fun running the Life Nocturnal walk. Nineteen brave members of the public joined us to look for bats, Nightjars, owls and moths on this heathland nature reserve.

With help from some moth experts we ran a successful moth trap, capturing some interesting species.  We heard male and female Tawny Owl, but unfortunately didn’t hear any churring Nightjar. This cryptic nocturnal bird loves warm, still nights and it may have been a little chilly for them even though we have two breeding pairs in the southern section that we heard churring only the night before!

A brilliantly camouflaged Nightjar on Hazeley Heath - photo courtesy of James Herd

                                            

We did pick up some echolocating bats however using our bat detectors; hand held devises that pick up the high frequency calls of these flying mammals as they hunt for insects. Pipistrelle, Brown Long-eared and Noctule were all heard as we wondered through Hazeley Heath in the dark.

For more bat walks, as well as more Hart Countryside Services walks and events please go to www.threesixfive.org.uk/countryside/guided-walks.