Batty at Balgay - 24th August 2012

Who'd have thought it - bats can be cute and good for your wellbeing!

Connnect...
Twelve of us went to the Dundee Ranger Service event Batty at Balgay on Balgay Hill.   The event gave us an opportunity to get learn more about bats, moths and each other as some of the members in our group were new.  We also met some other new friendly fok, in particular a teenage vampire impersonator who would occasionally run out of the darkness towards us with his arms outstretched and making hissing noises, which was entertaining and thankfully none of us had a weak heart! 

Be Active...
We walked from the bus stop up Balgay hill and enjoyed the view along the way.  We helped in the process of attracting moths by painting the bark of a tree with a heady brew of brown ale, dark brown sugar and treacle which moths like to dine on.  We also walked around outside Mills Observatory with torches and bat detectors listening out for bat calls.

Take Notice... 
Smelling the cocktail for the moths was strong and sweet and smelled predominantly of dark brown sugar which brought back memories of xmas cake (without the brown ale, of course!).  Listening to bat calls which sounded like a series of clicks through our bat detectors as the bats used echolocation to find their food.  We also saw several moths which had been captured the previous night and kept in large test tubes and were due to be released at the end of the night.  Through magnifying glasses we could see the intricate patterns and colours on their wings and bodies. 

Keep Learning...
We learnt that bats only give birth to one baby at a time and no wonder!  Apparently when they are born a baby bat is a third of its mother's weight.  The equivalent for a woman would be giving birth to a 2 stone baby - yikes!  We met a bat carer who was looking after a tiny, cute, furry baby common Pipistrelle bat who was only 8 - 10 weeks old.  We also learnt that bats will eat 3,000 midges, mosquitoes and moths a night.

Give...
We shared our opinions about bats and moths, shared sweets and we gave the captured moths their freedom at the end of the night.  We were also grateful to bats for munching their way through so many of the dreaded midge and mossie population each night :)

Research from the New Economics Foundation - Five Ways to Wellbeing - highlights 5 simple actions which can improve wellbeing.  To find out more, check out www.neweconomics.org/projects/five-ways-to-wellbeing