Sunday, December 03, 2006

Ireland's 10 species of bat

The 1100 species of bat make up a quarter of all mammalian species on Earth. So it is perhaps to be expected that a similar proportion of Ireland's mammalian species, 10 to be precise, would be bats (see post on Irish mammals for a list). All bats residing in Ireland belong to the bat Sub-order Microchiroptera, and all except one (the Lesser Horseshoe bat of the family Rhinolophidae) belong to the Vespertilionidae family.

All of the Irish bat species feed on invertebrates and therefore frequent places rich in flies, beetles, moths and other insects. Woodlands, scrub, wetlands, river corridors and flower rich grasslands are all suitable foraging habitats.

Some of our bat species have only been recognised in Ireland recently:
  • In 1997, the Nathusius’ pipistrelle was discovered breeding in Northern Ireland and has since also been recorded in the Republic.

  • Also in the late 1990s, scientists discovered that the Pipistrelle bat (Pipistrellus
    pipistrellus) actually comprised two different species, the Common and Soprano Pipistrelle. Both are found in Ireland, so another bat was added to the roll call.

  • In 2003, a Brandt's bat was discovered in County Wicklow, and has since been confirmed breeding in County Clare and County Tipperary.

  • Bat species can be tricky to identify, but reports suggest that Noctule (Nyctalus noctula) and Barbastelle (Barbastella barbastellus) species may have undiscovered populations here. Exciting times.

All Irish bats are protected and are listed in the Red Data Book of Irish Vertebrates. It is an offence under the Wildlife Act (1976 & 2000) to intentionally disturb, kill or injure a bat or its resting place.

Find out what bat species live in your area using the interactive bat distribution maps compiled by Bat Conservation Ireland.

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The island of ireland

Once upon a time, and for 15000 years, ice a mile high blanketed Ireland. When the lingering Ice Age finally released and the Irish ice departed it left a landscape scoured. Across land bridges linking Ireland, Britain and mainland Europe plants and animals arrived to colonise the new lowlands, mountains and valleys. The world’s ice continued to melt, the sea levels to rise, and some 8000 years ago Ireland became the island we now know, accounting for just 0.01% of the world's total land area and the most westerly point of Europe.

Though at Alaskan latitudes, the country's climate is tempered, due partly to the neighbouring waters of the Gulf Stream and partly the prevailing southwesterlies that veering and backing make landfall on our sodden coast. These offerings from the Atlantic mean it is never too hot, never too cold. But without doubt it is wet. Rain lingers year round, never far away, though is most frequent in winter, the western counties and, inevitably, on the day of your parade.