Bat Roost

Tier 5 - Day 55

Walked a different route through Horton Country Park today and came across this Bat Roost. The building was once part of the Long Grove Hospital complex which closed in 1992. Part of the site was then incorporated into Horton Country Park and in 2005 most of it was demolished for safety reasons. However before that happened, the building was inspected and European Brown Long Eared Bats were found which led to this section of the building being retained as a Bat Roost which is inspected annually. According to the signage, there are 17 species of of bats in the UK and the ones likely to be seen in Horton are Pipistrelle, Daubenton, Noctule and the Brown Long Eared.
In Britain all bat species and their roosts are protected by law, both nationally and internationally.