11th April Bat walk

 We were lucky as the bat walk took place on a warm, dry evening,  a perfect night for bats to hunt and feed on flying insects. We had hopes of seeing bats and we were not disappointed.

We had permission to take people around Mayow Park starting at dusk and the gates were kept open till the walk finished.

Iain Boulton, our bat expert, gave an introduction about bats in general, about bats in the UK and pipistrelle bats in Mayow Park specifically. 

One of the FOMP committee had drawn a diagram showing how bats have 5 fingers, the thumb at the top and four that connect to their wings. Bats are the only mammal that can truly fly.

Iain showed how to use a bat detector to 'hear' pipistrelles, our local bats. He explained that to 'hear' bats we tune the bat detector to the best listening frequency for the type of bat. For common pipistrelles we set the detector to around 50kHz

Most of the visitors didn't have a bat detector but Iain brought some to lend out. 

It wasn't long before we heard the bats (using the detectors) and saw them flying around catching  insects in the air. The moon looked down on us through the trees.

It was a wonderful evening. 

As people left to go home, many gave us donations and we were able to donate £37 to the Bat Conservation Trust.

All photos; A Sheridan

Pipistrelle bats catching moths on 9th September 2023

 We gathered at dusk in Mayow Park.

Dr Iain Boulton welcomed everyone to another Friends of Mayow Park bat walk. People gathered round to hear his introduction to the bats of Mayow Park.

He explained that all UK bats eat insects,  that they are flying mammals and seek out flying insects using echolocation. Mayow Park has common pipistrelles living in and around the park. To find out more visit  this bats website.

Iain brought his bat detectors and explained how to use them  before giving them out to participants. The evening was warm and humid, moths and other insects were flying, so we were hopeful of hearing and even seeing some of the pips of our park.

We were not disappointed. As we walked towards the orchard some excited children heard the bat calls on their bat detectors and . . . some were quick enough to see these speedy flyers. Soon adults and children spotted these small animals hunting around the orchard.

Lots of thank yous:

• thank you to all the people who came out on a Saturday evening
• thank you to Iain for giving your time and sharing your knowledge of bats
• thank you to Glendale (who manage the park on behalf of Lewisham Council) for keeping the park gates open so we could hold this event
• thank you to our volunteer stewards

BATS IN THE NIGHT 21 April 2023

Outdoor events can cause weather worries for organisers, commonly ‘will the weather force us to cancel?’.

But a bat walk must factor in the needs of bats too; they are not keen on inclement weather. They prefer mild, still evenings with plenty of flying insects for supper.

Friday 21^st April began very wet and cold. Should we cancel the event? 

The BBC and the Met Office offered assurances for brighter weather by the late afternoon. And that is how it turned out.

The weather improved rapidly. By 8pm when people started to gather at Mayow Park, it was a still evening with clear sky, full of flying treats for bats. 

The meeting point

Iain's intro

     Using a bat detector

Dr Iain Boulton opened the event with some entertaining batty facts. He certainly knows his bats. He brought some bat detectors to lend out to walk attendees, showing us how to set them to around 50 kHz, the frequency for the pipistrelle bats we would hear or see in Mayow Park. The detectors, not much bigger than a mobile phone, catch the sounds made by bats flying above our heads and translate those sounds at a level that humans can hear.

Even before we started the walk, at least one bat was detected between the pavilion and guardian oak tree which stands majestically at the park gates.

Walking slowly in the park, first in half-light then dusk, with the trees standing as silhouettes against the fading light, children moving with torches, an occasional bird flying past and all the time listening for the bats: this is a magical, calming sensation.

                                                                on the walk

The pipistrelles flew out for us at three locations along the south side of the park, along the path between Mayow Road an Recreation Road, while Venus shone down on us from high in the night sky.

A lovely evening. Thank you to all who joined us and to Iain for leading us.

TOTAL ATTENDING 52 + walk leader

36 adults + 12 children + 4 volunteers + Dr Iain Boulton, our walk leader

All photos courtesy of Pippa Moss

GREAT BAT WALK

We had a truly enjoyable bat walk this evening (20th September).  It was a mild evening with a clear sky. Sunset was around 7.15 pm. Moths and other flying insects were active - a good sign as they are food for bats.

Thanks go to Dr Iain Boulton for once again leading a bat walk in our park. While he was explaining about bats and their behaviour to the gathered crowd, one pipistrelle flew over our heads, right on cue. It flew in a loop and back behind the cafe building, seemingly not bothered by the throng of people.

We walked over to the orchard and our bat detectors started cracking as they picked up the sound of bats. We watched as bats few above us. The joy of the park at twilight was only slightly marred by sounds of the planes flying high overhead.

Thank you to to all the wonderful people who came to spend time in the park after dark, when the park is normally off-limits and locked up. Thanks also to Glendale, who manage the park, for agreeing to extend the opening time.

We had a total of 87 people with 52 adults and 35 children, according to the numbers on the sign-in sheets. One couple even spoke in praise of the children who were there. The children were excited and were running around  but interested and well behaved.  We had great feedback. Friends of Mayow Park are planning more bat walks for 2020

Photos thanks to Freda Darr.

Bat walk coming up 20th September 2019

Bat walk Friday 14th September 2018

Hoping for fine weather that evening.

Great bat walk Friday 13th April 2018

What a terrific turnout to the bat walk with more than 100 people meeting outside the cafe in Mayow Park. Although a cool evening, it was dry and there were some insects flying around, making it more likely we would see bats.
After a reminder of health and safety in the park  at dusk, it was the turn of Dr Boulton to talk bats.  Dr Boulton introduced himself, gave some general information about the bats we might see and explained how to use the bat detectors.
People organised into groups with one bat detector per group and it was time to set off round the park. Some followed Dr Boulton and others  meandered in other directions. Over the next hour, as the evening grew darker and our eyes became accustomed to low light levels, some found it easier to look for flying bats rather than to use the detectors.
By the end of the walk many people had seen bats flying around although it was noted that most of these nocturnal flying mammals tended to fly closer to the back gardens of nearby Bishopsthorpe Road. One explanation put forward for this was that most trees in the park were not yet in leaf after a very long and cold winter while the back gardens, being more sheltered, had more insect-attracting vegetation.
This was a community event organised by Friends of Mayow Park.

BAT WALK coming up in April

The bats of Mayow Park have had to endure a long, cold winter. We hope the weather will warm up in time for our bat walk on 13th April. This is a dusk walk, when the bats should be out hunting for flying insects.

This year park users are celebrating 140 years since the official opening of Mayow Park as a public recreation ground. We are also celebrating 25 years since Friends of Mayow Park (FOMP) was formed; it was originally called Mayow Park Users' Group (MPUG). 

LOOKING FOR BATS IN THE NIGHT

The evening was perfect for a bat walk; mild with only a gentle breeze and plenty of flying insects in the moonlit dusk. Friends of Mayow Park had arranged another visit by bat expert Dr Iain Boulton to lead this popular event.

Tree silhouette against moonlit sky
Photo: V Hero

The date was 31^st March 2017, with a bright new moon, a clear sky and trees silhouetted against distant lights. In urban London  it never gets completely dark at night.  Around 70 people (including 17 children) gathered in Mayow Park hoping to see and hear bats.

Iain (out of sight) gives brief intro to bats
photo:V Hero

Dr Iain Boulton ( he answers to Iain) explained some facts about bats and how they use eco-location to locate and catch their prey. He brought along his bat detectors and explained how to use them before leading us along the path from the cafe to Recreation Road.

Heading off to find bats
Photo: V Hero

Children shone their torches or held the bat detectors pointing towards the tree tops. The park looked like a fairy-tale land, very magical. We saw very few bats and those we saw or heard were near the Recreation Road gate. 

It is quite early in the season so we can all keep an eye out at dust in the park over the coming months to see bats.

Iain has offered to lead another walk in September when we may see more of these wonderful flying mammals.

Next time we could try a circular route round the park as there are wooded areas right round the park including behind the trim trail and older children's space.

End of walk and about to leave the park
Photo: V Hero

Upcoming events March-April 2017

We have a number of activities organised by Friends of Mayow Park.
Friday 31st March is our popular bat walk: meet at 7.30pm by the Mayow Park cafe entrance - opposite Burghill Road.
Thursday 6th April: Nature's Gym session with a focus on wildlife and conservation. Meet near the cafe.
Saturday 22nd April: The Big Dig. We will plant in the Triangle herb bed.
Tuesday 25th April: Friends of Mayow Park quarterly general meeting at Dacres Wood Field Centre 7pm

Let us know if you can join us for any of these events.

Bat walk on 16th September 2016

The day began with heavy rain and remained damp so there was no certainty the bat walk would go ahead.  Our last bat walk in April was washed out, although everyone enjoyed walking through the park in the rain after dark, so we all wanted to see bats this time. Luckily, by 6 o'clock it was clear the rain clouds were blowing away though the sky remained cloudy.

We met up near the pavilion at 7.15 pm,  had a brief introduction to the bats of Britain, a summary of our route through the park and a reminder of any potential hazards.
The event was led by Dr Iain Boulton.  Iain showed us how to use the bat detectors and off we went.

First stop was the 'balcony' overlooking the bowls green and our bat detectors detected bat activity. As our eyes got used to the dark of the trees and the lighter background of the sky we could see the fast flitting of the bats. Better still was when we moved past the bowls green to the space between the green and the tennis courts. With trees along the back of the Bishopsthorpe gardens behind us, the hedge of the bowls green to our right and a number of older trees around, we saw a number of bat silhouettes sweeping against the night sky. According to the bat detectors, we were watching pipistrelle bats.

Moving on along the path between the orchard and tennis courts we could hear more bat activity and saw some bats flying around above the orchard.

These amazing flying mammals have to work hard now to fatten up before they go into hibernation mode for the winter. And where will they hibernate? The old trees in and around Mayow Park have many hollows and some of these are small enough for bats to roost safely away from disturbance from other tree animals in the park. some of the houses nearby may also provide a suitable habitat under the roof tiles.

Reviewing the evening, Iain guessed that we saw around 5 or 6 pipistrelle bats but it would have seemed more because they swirled to and fro.
There were 27 people in total including 7 younger children.
Iain is looking forward to 2017 and has promised another walk next spring. Thank you Iain for helping us to appreciate some of the wildlife of Mayow Park.

A bat walk for September 2016

There was a bat walk on 2nd April 2016 led by Dr Iain Boulton. It was popular and drew a good crowd of adults and children BUT the steady rain persisted so the bats stayed away. Despite that most people said they enjoyed their time in the park after dark. Bats have been seen flying in the park near the bowls green at dusk so we know they are out there.
After the event, Dr Boulton said he would be willing to lead another walk so . . . we plan to try again on 16th September, from 7.15 pm to 8.30 pm. As before, we will meet by the Mayow Park cafe, close to the main entrance in Mayow Road.