The Coventry Nature Detectives Newsletter is sent to all full and associate members to keep
them informed of future events and reports of what has been discovered during past activities.
It will also provide opportunity for members to make a contribution in the form of questions,
letters and reports of interesting discoveries that you have made or any green issues that you
have concerns about.
Below is an example of a previous Newsletter sent out to members.
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Newsletter Issue 2
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Greetings to all investigators, we hope that you have all enjoyed your holidays and had the
opportunity to investigate something to do with nature.
If you have, please let us know so we can put it in the next issue of the Newsletter.
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Report on the Bat Night at Tocil Wood and Wetlands.
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Six investigators attended the event and were able to see and hear the two species of bat that
were in flight during the evening.
The event leaders were John and Julie Waller. John started with a short talk describing the
diverse habitats that comprised the woods and wetlands, and how good they are for bats because
of the large numbers of insects present in the area.
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We were told about the lifestyle of bats and a few old wives tales, such as bats being blind, were
dispelled. Bats have eyesight as good as humans but because they hunt in poor light, they rely
upon sound to locate their prey and to avoid obstructions.
John explained how the bat sonic location system worked and why we humans could not hear their
sonic shouts.
Bats shout at a frequency that is greater than 20,000 Hz (20 kHz), which is above the upper limit
of the human audio range.
He then handed out some bat detectors so that we could hear their sonic shouts and try to
determine which species were in flight. These detectors worked by collecting the sound made by
the bats, reducing the frequency, and then putting it out through a loudspeaker at a level within
our audible range.
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What did we find?.
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The group assembled on the bridge over Canley Brook, switched on the detectors, and then walked
into Tocil Wood to look at the bat boxes that had been placed on a number of trees.
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We then looked at trees with a hole where bats could make their home, however, the undergrowth of bramble etc,
prevented us from getting close to the trees known to have bat roosts.
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As we walked through the woods, Pipestral bats were seen by a lucky few but because of the
closeness of the trees the remainder of the party had to be happy just hearing the bats on the
detectors.
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The Next Meeting!.
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At the next meeting will be looking at trees. The meeting will be held at Coombe Abbey on Saturday
14th September 12.00 noon in the car park. The meeting will finish at 2.00 pm, after which you can
either go home or remain to look around the park with the Coventry & District Natural History
Society.
Make sure you are dressed for the weather and if you wish to eat whilst at Coombe, it would be a
good idea to bring a packed lunch. It is a good idea to bring with you your usual brand of insect
repellent cream. Cream supplied by others may cause allergic reaction, along with the bites!
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Once again a parent or guardian MUST come with you and remain with you on the walk!
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