The Meadow Makers' Network Forum

The East Devon AONB and Bat Conservation are delighted to announce that we have a new initiative providing support and advice to encourage the conservation and enhancements of wildflower meadows. Flower rich meadows are a vital foraging habitat for grey long-eared bats who feed on the insects associated with these rare meadows. Our Land Management Advisor, Craig would love to come and give some advice. If you are interested please contact me
pete.youngman@eastdevonaonb.org.uk.
As the funding is focused on grey long eared bats we are able to only work in those parishes near to one of the two maternity roosts in E Devon , so that is Colyford, Colyton, Musbury, Shute, Uplyme, Combepyne and Rousdon, Kilmington, Axminster and Hemyock. We will also be working in West Dorset to link up the habitats between known populations.
Please get in touch

I should have also said to find out more about this initiative visit
https://www.eastdevonaonb.org.uk/return ... ight-rider

Thanks

What a project name! I hope Craig turns up in KITT?

Hi Rob, I wish! I’ll have to ask Pete if there is a KITT in the budget! Good to see you on this great new forum, and thanks for posting your experiences of meadow creation with the grey long-eared project on NT land viewtopic.php?f=16&t=97.

I’m very much looking forward to starting on this new project and will be offering site visits and bespoke land management advice from February onwards (as restrictions allow). If you’re in the project areas (mentioned by Pete above), do get in touch with Pete or myself to arrange a visit. cdunton@bats.org.uk.

Hi Pete,
I'm in West Devon near St Giles on the Heath. I'm in a former mill which is great for bats. We have maternity roosts here and have identified at least ten species using the building or the land including greater and lesser horseshoe and barbestelle. We haven't found grey long-eared but I just wondered if they weren't too far away? I'm trying to do all I can for the bat population here.
thanks
Jon

Hi Jon. It sounds like you're doing great things for bats already! I don't know of any grey long-eared bat records close to you, but that doesn't mean they aren't there (or won't be there in the future). Chances are if they are close, they may well be using your land (species rich meadow?) for foraging, but they are very difficult to pick up on a bat detector and also very difficult to distinguish from brown long-eared bats. If you'd like to chat further about it feel free to drop me an email. cdunton@bats.org.uk