Thermal camera images, FB's Seething Wells
This summer, a thermal camera was used to take videos over the one remaining water - filled filter bed at Seething Wells, after beds 1 - 6 had been drained by developers. This took place when predicted that the adult bats would be taking the juveniles out for nursery flights, 25.7.22. We know that Daubenton's bats are dependent on the filter beds for this purpose, especially during windy weather, when the bend in the river can be very lively for a bat that hovers low over the water surface. The video is taken from the road, some distance and height from the water, and so is out of focus, but it can be seen that there are several flights around the water, often of bats in pairs. It was always known that Daubenton's bats used the FB's for foraging, without registering that they did so in such good numbers. Only bats flying at the front of the FB's, are in range of bat detection equipment. The occasional duck passes by to give an idea of the discreet area of water. It
