Brent Island
Mammals including Bats
From the Souvenir booklet issued to mark the opening of The Island on Sunday 5th June 1994:
Elaine Hurrell, Monica Hazell and Peter Chapman surveyed the mammals on 5th May 1994. They concluded that small animals such as short tailed field voles, wood mice, bank voles, and the shrews are virtually certain to be widespread. There was evidence of field voles, of a bank vole, of grey squirrels and of moles. There was no evidence of rabbits, brown rats, otters or mink. It is believed that otters do pass by but no spraints were found in the places where otters would leave them.
Peter Chapman felt that the Island was likely to be very good for bats - plenty of trees for roosting and plenty of insects for food over the river and the grassland. Horse shoe bats have been seen over the weir pool.
A report from the Devon Greater Horseshoe Bat project has identified at least 10 species of bat flying over The Island. In September 2016 a bat monitor/recorder was placed on The Island for three days and nights to record all passing bats. The results summary shown below prove that this is a rich area for bats. Greater Horseshoe bats were not recorded during this survey although they have been recorded previously (see lower down this page). More details about the Devon Greater Horseshoe Bat project can be found here.
Bats
In 2011 Elizabeth J Platt of Henlake Bats carried out a survey of bats on the Island. The following species were recorded:
Greater Horseshoe bat - Rhinolophus ferrumiquinum
Food: moths (esp. noctuids), beetles (esp. cockchafer, dor and scavenger), caddis, diptera (eg crane fly)
Lesser Horseshoe bat - Rhinolophus hipposideros
Food: small moths, diptera (eg crane fly), small beetles
Whiskered bat - Myotis mystacinus
Food: mayflies, small moths, diptera
Natterers bat - Myotis nattereri
diptera, moths, caddis
Daubentons bat - Myotis daubentonii
Food: caddis, diptera (esp. chironomids), moths, beetles, mayflies, water boatman
Brown Long-eared bat - Plecotus auritus
Food: moths (esp. noctuids), caddis, beetles (esp. scarab), diptera (esp. crane fly, midges)
Common Pipistrelle bats - Pipistrellus pipistrellus
Food: diptera, caddis, moths, mayflies, lacewings
Soprano Pipistrelle bat - Pipistrellus pygmaeus
Food: diptera, caddis, moths, mayflies, lacewings
Serotine bat -Eptesicus serotinus
Food: beetles (esp. cockchafer), large moths
Lizzie's full report can be downloaded here.
More information about bats can be found at Bat Conservation Trust