We were excited to be part of a survey conducted by Devon Wildlife Trust to monitor the population of the rare Greater Horseshoe Bat. Harewood Farm is near to the closely guarded location of one of the largest colonies of these endangered bats in Northern Europe. The Trust is seeking to gather more information about their habits and numbers.
Over the space of 2 nights in May these were the results of a survey in our entrance field using a bat detector. The device monitors calls and can decipher bat species by their unique frequency range. Much to our delight the Greater Horseshoe Bat made 3 visits along with other species we had no idea visited our land. The Common Pipistrelle are often seen flying about close to the house but the Greater Horseshoe avoids un-natural light and is rarely seen near dwellings. We’re so pleased Harewood is part of it’s habitat.
We hope to be doing more in the future to further improve the conditions here at Harewood for these amazing creatures.
You can find out more about the project at the Greater Horseshoe Bat Project