Thursday 1 November 2012

Hiding from the cold

Thursday: After a terrific autumnal family meal in Strumpshaw, Adam and I went to look at a small wren that I had seen squeezed into a small space under the roof of the boiler shed. The wren was still there, small and alert under the eves, and we talked about how we had heard that wrens can sometime congregate in the 100's in nest boxes to keep warm as the weather gets cold. Inside the boiler shed itself there was also a long eared bat suspended from the joist on the ceiling. I have seen long eared bats in the boiler shed before but this is the first this year, with it's ears curled up almost mechanical in appearance folded against the roof - like the creature in the shuttle unfolding in Ridley Scott's film Alien.

Note: On Friday evening there were 2 bats on the ceiling but when I looked during Saturday daytime there were no bats in the shed. Presumably they roost in the day and fly during the night but I have only seen them in the shed at night and only in the colder months of the year so presumably they roost elsewhere in the summer.

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