The site used to be part of the Fowlescombe estate and as such has the ruins of the old mansion.  It is in this ruin in which some of the Bat fauna of Fowlescombe can be found.  And in the farm house there is a roost of pips, which can be seen leaving as the darkness descends.

It was in the mansion ruin that a most interesting visitor was discovered.  In a spider’s web at the bottom of one of the chimney breasts some droppings were found.  These were collected because they definitely weren’t mouse, and they were sent for determination.  To our surprise the results came back with the information that they were Lesser Horse Shoe droppings (Rhinolophus hipposideros). 

This result prompted us to enlist the help of a friend who is a bat expert to discover what other nocturnal treats we have flying over Fowlescombe.  On a number of visits we came up with a short, but I think, quite nice list of bats that use the darken skies over the estate.

The list is as follows:

And on other occasions the majestic Greater Horse shoe (Rhinolophus ferrumequinm) bat has also been spotted slowly flying over the site. (There is a known roost a couple of km away).