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I know that the echo-location noises they make are significantly above the threshold of human hearing so obviously I'm not on about those. But do they make any other noises that we can hear?
The noise that seemed to be around late last evening when the bats were about was almost a creaking type noise, which if you had a mind to you might describe as a series of clicks, lasting for perhaps a couple of seconds.
T.
The noise that seemed to be around late last evening when the bats were about was almost a creaking type noise, which if you had a mind to you might describe as a series of clicks, lasting for perhaps a couple of seconds.
T.
In reply to Pursued by a bear: If you heard a bat you have amazing hearing. Apart from flapping wings of course.
In reply to Pursued by a bear: The common pipistrale (sp?) sounds at about 42kHz so you would be doing well to hear them.
In reply to Al Evans:
used to be able to perceive some bat sounds till a few years back. Not quite like hearing it direct - more like hearing the edge of the real sound if you know what I mean. has faded with age
used to be able to perceive some bat sounds till a few years back. Not quite like hearing it direct - more like hearing the edge of the real sound if you know what I mean. has faded with age
In reply to Pursued by a bear: I can hear bats. they squeak. I can also hear those garden-cat-irritators. kids can hear bats but most adults cant.
In reply to Pursued by a bear:
Yep, we get bats flying about in the back garden and I can hear them squeak.
Yep, we get bats flying about in the back garden and I can hear them squeak.
In reply to ceri:
Are you sure? The ones in our back garden (Pipistrelles) make a kind of repeated tapping noise followed by a rasberry sound which is them catching an insect. Others make a noise that sounds like white noise. The lass goes on bat surveys and has never said anything about bats squeeking.
> (In reply to Pursued by a bear) I can hear bats. they squeak.
Are you sure? The ones in our back garden (Pipistrelles) make a kind of repeated tapping noise followed by a rasberry sound which is them catching an insect. Others make a noise that sounds like white noise. The lass goes on bat surveys and has never said anything about bats squeeking.
In reply to Jon Dittman:
If that's at an audible frequency, that might be another way of describing the sound I called a creaking.
For the other posters, I'm aware that echo location sounds are way above my hearing, as mentioned in the OP. My hearing tops out between 13 and 14 kHz.
T.
> followed by a rasberry sound which is them catching an insect
If that's at an audible frequency, that might be another way of describing the sound I called a creaking.
For the other posters, I'm aware that echo location sounds are way above my hearing, as mentioned in the OP. My hearing tops out between 13 and 14 kHz.
T.
In reply to Pursued by a bear:
Most species produce a range of frequencies. A lot is definitely ultrasonic but I've always been able to hear the rhythmic (about 1 per second) clicks that pipistelles make and some of what's produced by other species. I do (still!) have pretty good high-frequency hearing and it was off the usual scale when I was young.
Most species produce a range of frequencies. A lot is definitely ultrasonic but I've always been able to hear the rhythmic (about 1 per second) clicks that pipistelles make and some of what's produced by other species. I do (still!) have pretty good high-frequency hearing and it was off the usual scale when I was young.
In reply to Anonymous: Yes I used to hear that too - I would 'sense' the sound first then see the bat later. It's certainly gone now though.
In reply to Pursued by a bear:
I can always hear bats. It's an incredibly high-pitched squeak, as others have said almost beyond the range of what might be termed a 'real sound'. Very irritating and piercing. I've heard that only young people can hear bats.
I can always hear bats. It's an incredibly high-pitched squeak, as others have said almost beyond the range of what might be termed a 'real sound'. Very irritating and piercing. I've heard that only young people can hear bats.
In reply to Pursued by a bear: Before I became old I could hear some of their calls, especially the bigger bats such as noctules. Bats tend to 'frequency sweep' as they call. They dont immediately call at 45 khz or whatever but tend to start low and build up to it, the lower portion is the bit that some younger people can hear.
The Bat Conservation Trust has its AGM this weekend in Reading, no doubt someone will have a few live bats so I'll give them a prod and see if I can hear them complain (the bats that is not the batworkers).
The Bat Conservation Trust has its AGM this weekend in Reading, no doubt someone will have a few live bats so I'll give them a prod and see if I can hear them complain (the bats that is not the batworkers).
Although I’m no expert! When I’ve been doing bat roost emergence surveys, I have heard several of the pipistrelle species making a very audible chattering squeaks at certain times the times when they are in the roost. This can sometimes be heard before emergence from a roost site or in the heat of the day when they are jostling for position. The audible sound is lower in pitch than the trill chatter that common shrews make.
When they are in flight its generally common pips that you hear the occasional click from the lower harmonics of their echolocation calls. This is mainly because they are one of the more common species. Some species like daubentons have a machine gun type call when heard on a heterodyne detector you can hear part of the lower harmonics which might be what you heard. Then again it could have been a few bats that you heard! It all depends on the habitat the bat is present in, i.e. cluttered or open, near a lake, woodland edge etc.. and of course the species!
When they are in flight its generally common pips that you hear the occasional click from the lower harmonics of their echolocation calls. This is mainly because they are one of the more common species. Some species like daubentons have a machine gun type call when heard on a heterodyne detector you can hear part of the lower harmonics which might be what you heard. Then again it could have been a few bats that you heard! It all depends on the habitat the bat is present in, i.e. cluttered or open, near a lake, woodland edge etc.. and of course the species!
In reply to Pursued by a bear:
Only when they're sucking your blood. It sounds like Muttley laughing.
> But do they make any other noises that we can hear?
Only when they're sucking your blood. It sounds like Muttley laughing.
In reply to Pursued by a bear: Of course they sit around talking and making sarcastic remarks about misrepresentation in the latest Batman movie.
In reply to Pursued by a bear:
Yes, they do make an audible noise.
Very high pitched though, sometimes hard to hear.
Yes, they do make an audible noise.
Very high pitched though, sometimes hard to hear.
In reply to ring ouzel:
I'd be much obliged if you could. Lord, the things people you've never met will do for you!
T.
> The Bat Conservation Trust has its AGM this weekend in Reading, no doubt someone will have a few live bats so I'll give them a prod and see if I can hear them complain (the bats that is not the batworkers).
I'd be much obliged if you could. Lord, the things people you've never met will do for you!
T.
In reply to moo cow:
It's a residential area, by a road (not too busy, but not a back street), surrounded by a fair number of tall, old trees; primarily but not exclusively oak and sycamore. And there are - distressingly for my other half, who hates them - a large number of large moths around at the moment. Whether that helps pin the bat species down any I don't know, just as I don't know where the little beasties roost (but it's not in my roofspace, thankfully).
T.
> Then again it could have been a few bats that you heard! It all depends on the habitat the bat is present in, i.e. cluttered or open, near a lake, woodland edge etc.. and of course the species!
It's a residential area, by a road (not too busy, but not a back street), surrounded by a fair number of tall, old trees; primarily but not exclusively oak and sycamore. And there are - distressingly for my other half, who hates them - a large number of large moths around at the moment. Whether that helps pin the bat species down any I don't know, just as I don't know where the little beasties roost (but it's not in my roofspace, thankfully).
T.
In reply to Pursued by a bear: I can hear the bats that go about their business in the leylandii outside our gaff. Sort of a high pitched squeaking, I s`pose.
In reply to Pursued by a bear: OK, the batty people know me so it'll be fine.
You might have long eared bats in your area with all these moths and mature trees but as they are also known as whispering bats then you'll never hear them. I've sat in roof spaces feeling them whisk past my head and I still couldnt pick them up on my bat detector. One of the best ways to check if they are there is look under the central beam of a porch or roof and if you see lots of moth wings there (they are particularly partial to yellow underwings) then it'll probably be long eared. Pips will be in your area too (there are now two kinds the common pip (45khz) and the soprano pip (55khz)), the soprano eats smaller insects. There might be a chance of some noctules (ecologically the swifts of the night sky) who have low calls (25khz) and on a bat dtector make the box jump around your hand its so loud! Depends on where you are in the UK as to what else will be around.
Bats eat midges so are OK by me!
You might have long eared bats in your area with all these moths and mature trees but as they are also known as whispering bats then you'll never hear them. I've sat in roof spaces feeling them whisk past my head and I still couldnt pick them up on my bat detector. One of the best ways to check if they are there is look under the central beam of a porch or roof and if you see lots of moth wings there (they are particularly partial to yellow underwings) then it'll probably be long eared. Pips will be in your area too (there are now two kinds the common pip (45khz) and the soprano pip (55khz)), the soprano eats smaller insects. There might be a chance of some noctules (ecologically the swifts of the night sky) who have low calls (25khz) and on a bat dtector make the box jump around your hand its so loud! Depends on where you are in the UK as to what else will be around.
Bats eat midges so are OK by me!
In reply to Pursued by a bear:
I've always thought that bats are a nice addition to a house and most people never notice them in a property (my parents included)
Generally in urban areas on streets it would be one of the pip species or brown long ears [BLE's], mainly because they are the most frequent house dwellers, other species generally use trees, bridges etc..basically anywhere that provides the conditions that suit their requirements for getting a good sleep etc.
As BLE's make very little noise when feeding (mainly using their ears to hear for finding prey, it is unlikely to be one of them.
Leaving pips of which there are a number of species. At the moment you see young bats shadow flying with their mothers (you might see one close behind another, generally that is what it would be). You can never really tell from second hand info and I would be lying if I said it was definitely a pip. but its quite likely. There are about 16 species of bat to choose from in the UK. not much help I know. I'd send an e-mail to your local bat group (or give them a call) if you really want to know. They'd have a better idea of what is in the area. You should be able to get details from the Bat Conservation Trust.
I've always thought that bats are a nice addition to a house and most people never notice them in a property (my parents included)
Generally in urban areas on streets it would be one of the pip species or brown long ears [BLE's], mainly because they are the most frequent house dwellers, other species generally use trees, bridges etc..basically anywhere that provides the conditions that suit their requirements for getting a good sleep etc.
As BLE's make very little noise when feeding (mainly using their ears to hear for finding prey, it is unlikely to be one of them.
Leaving pips of which there are a number of species. At the moment you see young bats shadow flying with their mothers (you might see one close behind another, generally that is what it would be). You can never really tell from second hand info and I would be lying if I said it was definitely a pip. but its quite likely. There are about 16 species of bat to choose from in the UK. not much help I know. I'd send an e-mail to your local bat group (or give them a call) if you really want to know. They'd have a better idea of what is in the area. You should be able to get details from the Bat Conservation Trust.
In reply to ring ouzel: they are particularly partial to yellow underwings:
and Lacewings!
and don't forget the Nathusius pip! they have been found in the north west a friend of mine had one in care that originated from roughly that area.
ring ouzel is right though. I've only heard a BLE once during a survey and I'm still not sure whether I imagined it. Even when handling them you don't get much from them.
no offence intended ring ouzel.
and Lacewings!
and don't forget the Nathusius pip! they have been found in the north west a friend of mine had one in care that originated from roughly that area.
ring ouzel is right though. I've only heard a BLE once during a survey and I'm still not sure whether I imagined it. Even when handling them you don't get much from them.
no offence intended ring ouzel.
In reply to moo cow: None taken!
My first bat trainer was smitten by bats when he saw a brown long eared in the hand for the first time. He said the ears were quite long but nothing special. What he was looking at was the tragus and when its proper ears were erected he couldnt believe the size of the things! He's been batty ever since.
I am spending all weekend at the BCT conference, on my birthday too! Never get a job in conservation moo cow your social life goes right out the window.
My first bat trainer was smitten by bats when he saw a brown long eared in the hand for the first time. He said the ears were quite long but nothing special. What he was looking at was the tragus and when its proper ears were erected he couldnt believe the size of the things! He's been batty ever since.
I am spending all weekend at the BCT conference, on my birthday too! Never get a job in conservation moo cow your social life goes right out the window.
In reply to Pursued by a bear:
Could be, but our bat detector was firmly set to 42kHz which is a long way above your 13 - 14kHz.
> If that's at an audible frequency, that might be another way of describing the sound I called a creaking.
>
> For the other posters, I'm aware that echo location sounds are way above my hearing, as mentioned in the OP. My hearing tops out between 13 and 14 kHz.
>
> For the other posters, I'm aware that echo location sounds are way above my hearing, as mentioned in the OP. My hearing tops out between 13 and 14 kHz.
Could be, but our bat detector was firmly set to 42kHz which is a long way above your 13 - 14kHz.
In reply to Jon Dittman:
what I heard was a longer pulse than clicks
mind you up till fairly recently I used to be sensitive to TV and monitor line output whistles that others couldn't hear. Did a test on an audiometer a few years back and could hear the output on all bands down to the lowest level - the wife, 10 years younger, lost it 2 clicks higher up the output setting.
used to be able to match capacitor values down to about 10-20pf using only an earpiece and squarewave generator
what I heard was a longer pulse than clicks
mind you up till fairly recently I used to be sensitive to TV and monitor line output whistles that others couldn't hear. Did a test on an audiometer a few years back and could hear the output on all bands down to the lowest level - the wife, 10 years younger, lost it 2 clicks higher up the output setting.
used to be able to match capacitor values down to about 10-20pf using only an earpiece and squarewave generator
In reply to Pursued by a bear:
You can definately hear bats
I like them I'm quite lucky to have a garden full of them at night.
You can definately hear bats
I like them I'm quite lucky to have a garden full of them at night.
In reply to ring ouzel: worked in ecology for 15 years! having a career break at the moment. I don't miss working in consultancy. I once worked in london and gave up after 7 months, as I'd gained a month in lieu, still had my holiday left and there was no time to take time off apparently. I enjoy being a bat warden though and loved being county ecologist, shame my funding ran out! now i'd better get back to my IEEM paperwork! Know of any decent jobs going ring ouzel!
In reply to Pursued by a bear: A couple of months back I was in a cave in Spain which had a huge bat colony and they were making a right racket. They most definately can produce squeaks in our audable range.
In reply to moo cow: yhm.
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