Paula Radcliffe with Mark Cavendish and Sally Gunnell with Tom Daley – on your marks!

Well, of course I had to give them Olympian names! Apart from the fact that, to these two baby bats taking their first flights with lessons from their mums, this must be an Olympic level challenge with all the physical demands of an Olympic event, some great inspiration by people who have risen to such challenges can only be a good thing.

Paula and Mark are my common pipistrelles; Paula is calm and covers endless circuits effortlessly. Baby Mark seems reticent to get going but, once he gets going, oh - he’s going! This I observe in his second test flight. I hold up mum and baby and mum is up and away, looping and swerving around the room. Mark hangs back, looking about him, weighing up the situation. He launches and flies to the opposite wall with surprisingly speed. He nervously contemplates another flight and sets off again, landing on the floor (a little more smoothly than the first time) Paula serenely passes nearby as they chatter to one another animatedly. Baby Mark struggles to launch from the floor. I let him try for a while and then scoop him up so that he can fly from my hand, which he does with gusto. Another landing and he looks pretty done in, so I gather them in and tuck them up in their box.

The sopranos are obviously Sally and Tom. Mum Sally energetically launches into her agile, erratic flight and Tom, peering over the edge of my hand is clearly ready to get going again. He spreads his wings meticulously and launches off. No swan dive to the ground this time, though. He swoops up and flies across the room, landing and fluttering off again. Sally flits attentively around him and he lands again. A few more flights and landings and he seems to have done enough.

Flight Test 2: Up for the challenge: Check

A long way to go before they can fly strongly enough for release but making headway….

For more information about what to do if you find a bat visit the Bat Conservation Trust's web page

Find out more about the Sussex Bat Group and opportunities to volunteer visit their website

Bat services from The Ecology Consultancy

As well as caring for bats in our spare time we offer a range of bat surveys and mitigation services. You can see the full range on our website

Bat surveys and mitigation

Returning from hospital and settling in

I bring the bats home from hospital, each pair in their own deluxe apartment – a box with secure lid and air holes, a tea towel for snuggling in, fresh water and a tempting bowl of meal worms.

The first pair are the common pipistrelles. I pop my cotton gloves on and carefully extract them to warm them up and see how they fly. I enclose them gently in my hands until they squirm, baby being far more active than mum. They soon start chattering to one another and look about their surroundings. They echolocate to get a full picture of the room, probably rudely interrupted by the resident brown long-eared bat (who came in uninjured but utterly, utterly starving), a soprano pipistrelle (who lacks the confidence to fly… at the moment) and serotine bats (long termers who can’t be released but will be taken to schools, shows, groups and maybe even parliament to help bust some bat myths).



I hold up my hands so that they can consider the idea of flying.

Mum takes off, flying strongly around the room with beautiful twists and turns and swooping lines. Baby looks anxious at her departure and shuffles about on my hand worriedly. Mum swoops back and forth, over and around baby, to encourage him. Baby peers over the edge of my hand – on the brink of taking off – and then reverses rapidly. Watching mum, he visibly gathers confidence and, carefully stretching each wing in turn, launches himself with real courage over the edge of my hand. He flutters frantically, with encouraging circuits from mum gliding effortlessly and attentively close, but baby very gradually and very surely loses height until he unceremoniously scoots to the ground. The landing wasn’t completely smooth and accomplished and he seems a little shell-shocked. I go to scoop him up but mum isn’t totally happy about that and flies between us protectively. I calmly and gently collect them both up and place them back in their apartment safely.

Then I investigate the soprano pipistrelles. Mum is a bundle of energy, chattering noisily and baby is adventurous and ready to throw himself into this challenge. Mum takes off immediately with a weaving, darting flight around the room and baby is immediately behind her. They’re both chattering audibly and communicating the whole time. Baby launches with great confidence and self-belief - and gracefully falls to a decided descent, landing with a bit of a splat. He’s fine, shakes himself off and looks around to go again. Mum swings down to him, chattering loudly, he chatters back. It sounds like she expected better. But, it was a comparable effort and I pop them away so that he, like his common pipistrelle counterpart, can think about the epic first step that has just happened.

Phew. Flight Test 1: Confidence: Check.

What bold little critters.

For more information about what to do if you find a bat visit the Bat Conservation Trust's web page

Find out more about the Sussex Bat Group and opportunities to volunteer visit their website

Bat services from The Ecology Consultancy

As well as caring for bats in our spare time we offer a range of bat surveys and mitigation services. You can see the full range on our website

Bat surveys and mitigation