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52
THE ZOOLOGIST
eaves of the church at Nantglyn, Denbighshire.[1] The first, which emerged at 7.15, was followed at short intervals by seven others, and at 7.27 between twenty and thirty appeared in quick succession. On several evenings in the spring of 1900 I timed the Noctules as they left their den in the dead limb of a beech at Alderley Edge, and later in the year I made some observations on a second colony which had its quarters in the hollow trunk of a living Scotch fir in the same district. The results are summarised in the following table:—
Date | Sunset at Greenwich |
Approximate time of sunset at Alderly Edge |
Number of bats |
Time of Appearance |
Time at which first bat entered hole on return | ||
Colony in Beech | April 18th.. | 6.58 | 7.11 | 10 | 7.37-7.40 | — | |
April„21st ... | 7.4 | 7.17 | 4 | 7.45-7.46 | — | ||
April„26th ... | Windy and cold. I watched from 7.35-8.20. No bats appeared, although they were squeaking in the den. | ||||||
May 3rd ... | Windy and very cold. Bats again squeaking, but none emerged between 7.45 and 8.20. | ||||||
May „4th ... | 7.25 | 7.40 | 20 | 7.58-8.4 | — | ||
May „6th ... | 7.28 | 7.43 | 15 | 7.58-8.0 | — |
Colony in Fir. | August 5th... | 7.40 | 7.56 | 9 | 8.12-8.13 | — | |
August„10th ... | 7.32 | 7.47 | 9 | 7.58-8.30 | 9.5 | ||
August„12th ... | 7.28 | 7.43 | 4 | 7.50-7.59 | 9.7 | ||
August„13th ... | 7.26 | 7.41 | 2 | 7.46-7.49 | — | ||
August„14th ... | 7.24 | 7.39 | 6 | 7.32-7.44 | — | ||
August„15th ... | I caught three Bats—all females—as they emerged this evening. | ||||||
August„23rd ... | 7.60 | 7.20 | 5 | 7.29-7.31 | — | ||
August„27th ... | 6.57 | 7.10 | 22 | 7.29-7.30 | 8.24 | ||
August„30th ... | 6.51 | 7.40 | 19 | 7.2-7.8 | 8.41 | ||
August„31st ... | 6.48 | 7.10 | 16 | 6.55-7.40 | — | ||
September 3rd | 6.42 | 6.54 | 27 | 7.70-7.11 | 8.22 | ||
Sept„4th ... | 6.40 | 6.52 | 24 | 6.56-7.1 | 7.53 | ||
Sept„5th ... | 6.37 | 6.49 | 27 | 6.59-7.4 | 7.58 | ||
Sept„7th ... | 6.33 | 6.44 | 17 | 6.48-6.51 | — | ||
Sept„9th ... | 6.28 | 6.39 | 18 | 6.53-6.56 | 7.54 | ||
Sept„17th ... | 6.10 | 6.20 | 6 | 6.28-6.29 | — | ||
Sept„29th ... | 5.42 | 5.42 | 17 | 6.6-6.8 | — |
- ↑ The Noctule, although probably common and generally distributed, has been recorded from but few Welsh localities. Mr. G.H. Caton-Haigh states that it is common in Merionethshire (Zool. 1887, p. 293). In May,