A RARE whiskered bat has been spotted flourishing in Gillingham thanks to the work of the local men’s shed.

While the species is fairly widespread, they are rarely seen in bat boxes and are usually seen up close during trapping surveys.

The Gillshed Team worked with Dorset Wildlife Trust to create 32 new bat boxes in Duncliffe Wood as part of the Gillingham Royal Forest project, bringing the total number of boxes in the wood from 18 to 50.

These bat boxes, created in early 2024, provide a space for different species of bats to roost.

Despite Duncliffe Wood boasting many old trees, the majority of the woodland is still relatively young, as many oaks, ash and conifers were planted around 50 years ago.

These trees have not yet developed features such as splits, lifting bark, rot holes and woodpecker holes which provide ideal roosting sites for bats, so the provision of boxes gives bats more opportunities for roosting and is important for the breeding colonies of brown long-eared and natterer’s bats in the wood.

The boxes are monitored each month from spring to autumn, which provides the Wildlife Trust an opportunity to learn more about the bats’ relationship with the woods.

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“We were very pleased to find bats using the new boxes almost immediately, and since they have been installed, 20 of the 32 new boxes have been recorded to be used by bats, a fantastic uptake, showing that they really do provide valuable additional roosting opportunities for bats in Duncliffe Wood,” a Dorset Wildlife Trust spokesperson said.

“The highlight so far has been finding a whiskered bat in one of the new wooden boxes in July 2024 – this is a fairly widespread bat but rarely seen using bat boxes and more commonly encountered during trapping surveys.

A close-up of a whiskered bat Picture: Dorset Wildlife Trust/Tom Marshall

“The new boxes have also resulted in many more Soprano Pipistrelles being recorded on surveys. Both these species are considered ‘crevice-dwelling’ bats, hence their preference for the narrow slots of the wooden boxes!”

Gillshed’s key role

The Gillshed team had a key role to play in the project, as members made 10 wooden boxes to a specific design which were then painted by young people with Employ My Ability.

Chair of Gillshed, Phil Wheatley, said it was a very rewarding project to work on.

“Dorset Wildlife Trust approached us in the first instance to see whether the Gillshed could make bat boxes, and we agreed as it was a perfect and much rewarding project for us,” he said.

“We made about twenty boxes in all for Duncliffe Wood, which were made to a specific design supplied by Dorset Wildlife Trust, who sourced and purchased suitable timber from a local sawmill.

“The timber had to be untreated, rough sawn and sustainable. They chose larch because of its durability and long life.”

The boxes were made in batches, and a prototype was made first to determine angles and cuts, which still hangs outside the Gillshed workshops.

Ten more bat boxes were made by a local bat expert to a new design, and 12 further ‘woodcrete’ bat boxes for cavity roosting bats were bought.

The wooden boxes were designed to be suitable for barbastelle bats, a rare woodland species which the Wildlife Trust does not know much about in Dorset currently.

The boxes are monitored by volunteers from Dorset Bat Group and the survey hopes to enable comparison between the uptake of different types of boxes by different species.