Bat Highway
- 31 May 07, 12:14 PM
Looking at the comments on the Spring Diary programme that went out this week I’m struck by one thing. What made it such an appealing and refreshing programme (and equally what makes this blog so refreshing to read) is that the programme was created from your thrill & wonder in encountering wildlife. Purely and simply the excitement of it. I’ve just come back from recording a programme for our Living World strand - one of those trips that makes me feel like I’ve got the best job in the world…
We (presenter Lionel Kelleway & I) were taken out by naturalist John Walters to a spot on the edge of Dartmoor in Devon. Greater horseshoe bats roost in some old barns there and John told us how, when walking one evening as he often enjoys to, he discovered by chance a breathtaking spectacle.
He took us to a narrow, tree covered path leading from a hilltop church quite steeply down to the barns where the bats roost. We waited quietly on the path and at almost 9:30pm the bats began to fly out of their roost to hunt. John had discovered that they use the little path as a kind of tunnel, or a motorway, as they exit. Standing very still they began to fly up the path towards us - one or two at first, then more and more inches from our faces, building up until the whole pathway was swirling with bats. We could look down the tunnel into the gloom and see these beautiful creatures flying straight for us - so delicate, yet supremely agile as they expertly negotiated our heads (and the microphone) in their flight path. So close that we could hear their wings flapping and feel the brush of wings in our hair!! I was absolutely blown away. To be so close and yet so apparently unnoticed. I felt so privileged. An experience I’ll never forget…
Has anyone else felt that way? I’d love to hear about your favourite place to wait and watch - or chance encounters that have knocked you for six…
The Living World: Bat Highway will be broadcast on ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio 4 on Sunday 1st July at 6:35am or you can listen again after the broadcast
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Thank you for the wonderful programme on Radio 4 on May 29th at 11am - Nature. I could relate to all the comments and readings - Spring was early here in Sussex - in my local wood nightingales were singing at least 10 days ealier than usual, and being so warm Brimstone Butterflies were on the wing much earlier. It was comforting to hear so many many folk DO care about the British Countryside and all its flora and fauna wendy
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I must tell you about a fantastic trip I and my family just did to Finland.
We have just been to "No man's land" along the Finnish and Russian boarder to watch large predators. Two nights were spent in two different hides.
It is a very desolated area of Finland close to the town of Kuhmo. Taiga, taiga and taiga i.e. northern boreal forest.
The first night we saw a wolverine flashing by like a gigantic martin and during the night we heard a ural owl. It was an OK night, but the second night...wow
It all started with walking over a large mire, and my wife was almost swallowed by the white mosses (not really, but she sank down to her hips). The kids got scared - but we managed to get her back to the top of the wetland - drenched. But the spirit was high while we were in an area where nobody without special permission is allowed - exciting for the kids and also for us two adults. Any time could the Finnish hard core boarder patrol would turn up with a tuff sniffing german shepard? If you do not have the right paper - off you go. Sadly, they did not turn up.
We strolled to the hide while being followed by tens of very high sounding ravens. No way of getting to the hide "igconito". Just when we got to the hide, hundreds of ravens turned up (like a Hitcock film). They were attacking an old white-tailed eagle which passed just above us and landed in a tree 100 metres infront of the hide. We went inside and started to wait silently. With three kids, that can sometines be a bit boring - especially for Frida, an 8 year old girl. After a few hours a peregine falcon landed just beside the eagle. Not bad, two of the best raptors in the same binocular field.
The area where the hides are is very high up so it never really gets dark. At nine in the evening, I turned my head 90-degrees and on the mire, less than 100 metres away, strolled the animal I have dreamed of seeing all my life. A WILD WOLF. It passed slowly over the mire, into a forest and came out again ten seconds later and found some left overs. It laid down and chewed in front of us for TEN minutes. Then it turned and walked slowly away until it was swallowed by the taiga forest. An hour later, a large dark bear passed by - it probably had females on his mind while it is the rutting season for the brown bears. That means less bears comes up to the hide to eat carcasses. At midnight, I heard some heavy crunching, I realized that a small bear was within ten metres from the hide. The whole family was woken again - no complaints from the kids, despite the late hour. It is great to see all smiles of the family.
Not bad; 2 brown bears, 1 wolverine, 1 wolf and in total five species of raptors within 48 hours. It is a success story for all the conservation work which have been carried out for decades in Finland and Sweden. For thirty years ago, everybody would have thought you were nuts to go with the kids to see large carnivores in Finland. Not because of the danger, but rather due to the lack of predators. But today, some of them are thriving. In Sweden there are more than 2 500 bears and thousands of eagles.
I remember two comments from my kids. "when do we go back" and "daddy you were using bad words when you saw the wolf"
I did know about this place we went to, but I learnt that there are several "bear" hides in northern Finland - last year 22 different bears were observed from one single tourist hide during one night - not bad.
Take the kids out from the cyberspace - the real world can be as exciting as a computer game.
Tom
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