There are some pretty hi-tech tricks for seeing into the world of Kent’s bats. Chris Price met the Kent Bat Group.

It is moments like the scene in the blockbuster movie Batman Begins that anger members of the Kent Bat Group.

“Why bats, sir?” asks Michael Caine as trusty butler Alfred Pennyworth, to Bruce Wayne’s reply: “Bats frighten me. It’s time my enemies share my dread.”

It is an idea that sees Christian Bale fight crime on the streets of Gotham as Batman, and prompts iconic battles against the Joker in the Dark Knight and, most recently, with Bane in The Dark Knight Rises.

Yet according to experts, it fuels a huge misconception over the tiny mammals.

“There are a lot of funny stories saying people are scared of bats but we want people to realise they are amazing animals,” said Shirley Thompson, a founder member of the Kent Bat Group and a leader on many of the walks that introduce people to the small winged creatures around the county.

“They have a fascinating way of life and I’m pleasantly surprised at the number of people who come up to us and say they love bats. That is not the impression you get from the media.”

This time of year is always busy for Kent Bat Group, who are running bat walks at various locations. All the bat group’s walks are in the summer, as bats hibernate in the winter.

The group always meets around sunset, which is when the bats become most active.

“If possible we are near water and trees, as all the bats in this county eat insects,” said Shirley, who lives in Whitstable.

“We always choose places we hope to see bats but you can never absolutely guarantee it.”

However, if the county’s bats are proving difficult to spot, the group has a tool that sounds like it came straight out of the Caped Crusader’s utility belt – the bat detector. It works by tapping into the conversation between bats. Bats communicate by using echolocation, a sixth sense that emits sonar waves at high frequency. It bounces off prey and walls telling them where to fly.

It is this that leads to the common misconception that bats are blind. They can, in fact, see just as well as humans in most cases, which is not very well in the middle of the night. That is why echolocation is such an important tool.

The bat detector picks up these high pitch frequencies and lowers them to a level that the human ear can hear.

“Even when it is dark and we cannot see them, people can hear them all around them,” said Shirley. “This is what really catches people’s interest. It is really spectacular to think they are all around.

“Turn the gadget off and you hear nothing. Turn it back on and you realise they are everywhere.”

`It skims water like a hovercraft'

There are few better places to see bats in the UK than Kent, with 14 of the 18 species of British bat recorded in the county.

Among Kent’s common species is the pipistrelle, a very small bat. At first glance, many people think they appear to be about the size of a sparrow but when their wings are folded, they are so small they could fit comfortably inside a matchbox. Typically they fly in circles or figures of eight and are most likely to be seen just after sunset.

There are three types of pipistrelle. The common and soprano are often seen in Kent. A third, the nathusius’ pipistrelle, is very rare.

A bat of concern for the Kent Bat Group is the noctule, a much bigger bat that members are reporting fewer sightings of.

“It is not difficult to identify as it skims over the water like a hovercraft,” said Shirley. “It scoops insects off the water. If we hear them we shine our torches across the water and you see them go through the beam.

“It is very exciting. People who have never seen them or heard them before don’t realise they are out there.”

Bat facts

: Bats in Kent generally live in trees as there are not many homes for the cave dwelling sorts.

: Many also live in old buildings and they can move 20 to 30 times a year.

: The key is for them to live somewhere which is cool in the winter – so they can keep their heartbeats down to once or twice a minute during hibernation – and warm in the summer when they are looking after their young.

: Bats are mammals and feed their babies on milk.

: It has been a tough year for bats, as the heavy rain over the summer has stopped insects coming out, limiting their source of food.

: 2012 is the United Nations’ Year of the Bat (and the year the latest Batman film has been released!)

Places to look

Top locations to spot bats include Mote Park in Maidstone, Ightham Mote in Sevenoaks, Dunorlan Park in Tunbridge Wells, Westgate Gardens in Canterbury and Brockhill Park, near Hythe.

“But you can see bats anywhere really,” said Shirley. “You just need to be near trees and water.”

Details

Kent Bat Group’s next walk is at Brockhill Country Park, near Hythe, on Wednesday, August 8. Admission £5. Call 0845 824 7600.

There are also walks at:

Dunorlan Country Park, Tunbridge Wells, on Thursday, August 9. Admission free. Call 01580 212972.

Ightham Mote, Sevenoaks, on Friday, August 31. Admission £3, children £1.50. Call 01732 810378.

Kelsey Park, Beckenham on Friday, August 31. Admission free. Call 01689 862815.

Toddlers Cove, Whitehall Road, Canterbury, on Friday, September 7. Meet at 7.15pm. Admission free.

They will also have a stand at Sandwich Bay Bird Observatory Trust’s Wildlife & Conservation Fair from Sunday, August 26 to Monday, August 27. Admission free. Call 01304 617341.

More details at www.kentbatgroup.org.uk

To find out more about bats and how to help, visit the Bat Conservation Trust’s website at www.bats.org.uk or call the free National Bat Helpline on 0845 1300 228.