Abbey best for hibernating bats

Members of the Sussex Bat Group visited the Abbey last week to carry out the first stage of the annual bat hibernation survey.

The group found 11 Daubenton’s bats and three scarce Natterer’s bats hibernating within the site.

Battle Abbey property manager Jo Stewart said: “These numbers are slightly down on last year’s survey but the weather is slightly warmer than this time last year and today we noticed some juicy mosquitos around.

“Bats love to feed on these, so it is possible that some bats may still be active.

“Battle Abbey are currently the proud holders of the record for the largest roost of hibernating bats in East Sussex. This is out of all the sites surveyed by the bat group.”

There are 18 species of bat in the UK, all of which have been recorded in Sussex.

Some are resident in Sussex, while others turn up occasionally or at certain times of the year.

Bats return to the same roost sites every year, so even if the animals themselves are not present, the roost is still legally protected.