Build A Simple Bat Detector
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Reports from the Field - 2000
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Archived Field reports are also available for: 1998 and 1999

Chris Dagg, in Ireland, sent me a picture of himself and his children out listening for bats with a Simple Bat Detector. He writes: "Ireland reporting in. We have listened to the occasional bat here in Ireland but our forays into the woods weren't too successful. However we took our detector with us on vacation to France and were rewarded with a bat overload !   We were staying in a Gite opposite an old barn (near the River Tarn), there had been buildings on the site for 500 years or more and the bats were very plentiful around the house and in the woods.   We found that the cicadas and crickets made so much noise on the detector that we needed to get the bats on the skyline, however they were very obliging and covered a racetrack pattern eating insects.   As you can see by the attachment it's a family activity and the children were as thrilled as we were by the bats.   I don't know if you are aware but the French for bat is Chauve-Souris which translates as "bald mouse" !   Many thanks for the detector, we have had hours of fun and confused many many people ! regards   Chris Dagg and family.   Cork Ireland"

Laurent Gabiot, in France, succeeded in building his own Simple Bat Detector from information on the web site. His report is similar to many I receive - which always makes make me happy that I was able to share the design of the Simple Bat Detector... "I'm student in sound recording techniques for cinema, but also I'm very interrested in the way animals can hear" ... "I saw a bat in Paris for the first time last spring, it happened by chance, two of them where flying in my street, making round, probably to catch the insects near the city lights. I then tried to see more of them, but didn't find them, also, at that time, I didn't know much about bat ecology, so I couldn't really figure where to find them. And then I made your detector, and went out with it, trying to locate bats. After maybe half an hour of search, I heard my first click, and soon others, I approached the source of those, and finally see the bat itself, as usual feeding under city lights. By then, I quickly found the places where bats hunt in my area, thanks to your detector, because they escaped my attention before. That was a great pleasure, I felt like I was discovering a new world, just near my house. I believe the bat's I've seen where for the most part Pipistrelus pipistrelus, but I can't be totally sure.What I'm sure of is that your bat detector is very good, and as a consequence of it's simplicity, very solid and light, which make it good to take for backpacking, etc.. I particularly appreciate that it was very easy to understand how it works, to make it, and it's cheap! I like the idea that it can be done by almost everybody."

Caris Revere, in Indianna, used a preassembled Simple Bat Detector for a bat project with her 4th grade class. She reports: "I just wanted you to know the bat project we did turned into a huge success!  My students absolutely loved the bat detector!  I allowed each student to take it home (one per night) and observe hearing bats.  We live near a large creek that bats frequent, so MANY said they saw bats in the air, turned on the detector, and were able to hear all of their chirps and squeeks.  It was an experience they'll never forget." If you would like to visit the class web page and see the reports the students put together check out: http://www.comnetcom.net/~caris/Bat.htm

Tony Messina - email: T-Rex@ix.netcom.com - this page was last updated August 13, 2000

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