Since the previous page was written we have become aware of the work being done by the Friends of Organ Pipes National Park in Victoria.  The significance of their work can be gauged from the following:

*  34 batboxes installed.
*  All boxes monitored monthly since October 1996.
*  Maternity colonies are believed to have used about 2/3 of the boxes.
*  The dominant user has been Gould's wattled bat.
*  Other users include Large forest bats, Southern forest bats, Chocolate wattled bats and a single White-striped freetail bat.
*  A heavily-insulated winter-roost box was successfully trialled during 1999.

The box used is based on a British design by Robert Stebbings and S.T. Walsh.  Essential details are illustrated adjacent.  The dimensions shown are internal.

The bats enter from below. The rear board below the entrance acts as a landing pad and they crawl up into a narrow slit.  The width of the entrance slit seems to be important.  For Gould's wattled bat, they have found that 15mm is the optimum width.  For the two Forest bats, 12mm is the preferred width.

If using ply or any other material with a smooth surface, you must do something to allow the bats to get a grip.  The original design used horizontal saw cuts but we have found that scouring well with a glass cutter also works.

In Victoria the bats change their maternity colonies almost nightly.  Whether this applies elsewhere remains to be seen, but that behaviour suggests that boxes in clusters might work better than single boxes.

Further details about their work can be found on their website.  Go to:

http://home.vicnet.net.au/~foopnp and, in particular, their newsletters.

top

home page