A Bat Hunt at Birmingham NEC

After exploring the Bluebell wood and walking round the Birmingham NEC, I had a quick meal at the Crowne Plaza and then came out again in the hope of finding some bats.  The Bat Conservation Trust tells us that "Bat use high frequency calls normally beyond the range of human hearing to build up a sound picture of their surroundings. This echolocation system enables them to wing their way through the dark night hunting the tiniest of insects." I had a "heterodyne" bat detector with me, which makes these calls audible to my much less sensitive human ears. 

View of Pendigo lake from the Crowne Plaza - early morning.

The photo, taken from my hotel room gives an idea of the layout of the area.  The Resorts World hotel and outlet is on the immediate left and the big red building seen to the North of the lake is one of the NEC halls. The trees to the immediate right of the red building are the woodland that I explored earlier in the evening.  The path you can see in the foreground leads round the edge of the lake.

Pendigo lake from the South end of Pendigo lake - about 9pm.

At about 9pm, about half-an-hour after sunset I left the hotel. I turned right and followed the path round the South end of the lake. I had set the bat detector to 45, which is the frequency that our most common bat, the common pipistrelle uses to echo locate its prey in the dark.  While walking, I held the detector up and swept it round. Just a few metres from the hotel I heard some clicks coming from one of the trees at the lake edge. I couldn't see anything and swung round. There were louder clicks coming from a group of trees on a grassy bank between the lake and the car park. As I watched, I could see two and then three bats dancing in the air.

View of Resort World from the South end of the lake - 9:20pm.

They left the trees and flew in the direction of the lake. I watched for a moment then walked to the end of the lake-side path. From here I took nearly an hour to follow the path anti-clockwise round the lake, ending up at the entrance to the wood I had explored earlier.  I detected hunting bats nearly all the way round. The only gaps were in front of the Resort World hotel and the shingle beach at the North West end of the lake. The absence of bats in front of Resort World fits in Bristol University's web page, which tells us:

"Warren et al. (2000) found that when foraging over water, common pipistrelles prefer areas of smooth water surface with trees on both banks. These areas were found to be abundant in flying insects and low in acoustic noise."

Resort World from the North end of the lake - about 10pm.

Just before the end of my walk I encountered two young men who wanted to know what I had in my hand. I explained about the bats and pointed the detector over the lake so they could hear it click. They were exited to hear the bats and told me about the wildlife near their own homes - one had owls nearby and the other had foxes that visited his garden.

Wednesday evening

Sun dipping below the horizon - approx. 8:30pm.

This time I wanted to find out when the bats emerged so, before the sun set, I waited by the trees where they seemed to gather on the previous night. The sun set at approximately 8:30pm and I waited about half-an-hour for the bats to appear.

View from the South end - 8:45 pm

9:04pm - First clicks. One bat appeared and flew round the trees  for about 5 minutes before disappearing over the bank separating the lake from the car parks. A few minutes later it returned.

9:17pm - Second bat appeared and joined the first.

9:22pm - They were joined by a third and then all three went hunting over the lake.The bats are not the only ones hunting the insects that fly over the lake. Every minute or so I hear a plop and see rings spreading out over the water - presumably from hungry fish.

Great-Crested Grebe - 9:09 pm.

Birds were still active too. In the time that I was waiting, a heron flew over the lake into the woodland on the East side. A Great-Crested Grebe glided past and I decided to leave the dark lake to the creatures of the night.

Oaks showing their first signs of golden bronze

In her entry for the first of May 1906, Edith wrote about her journey home from a holiday.

The country is looking much more beautiful than when I came through it three weeks ago. The primroses are still thick on the banks, the hedge are all green, many of the apple orchards in blossom; and the Oaks showing the first signs of golden, bronze foliage.

Fields between Coventry and Birmingham.

On my way from Sussex to Birmingham I saw many primroses tumbling down shaded banks and, between Coventry and Birmingham saw a countryside that was, in many ways, not so different to the one that Edith saw - with fields separated by hedges, farm houses etc. However, Edith would not have seen so many yellow rapeseed fields on her journey. The crop has increased massively from the 1970s when scientists bred varieties suitable for human consumption. Increased mechanisation means that there are fewer people and no horses working the land.

This week I was lucky with my hotel room. I've been staying in the Crowne Plaza and had a room looking over the NEC's Pendigo lake. In search of oak trees, I headed to the North East part of the lake, near the Hilton Metropole hotel, where there is a bluebell wood.

First sight of the woodland from the lakeside - Oak with fresh leaves.

Skirting round the edge of the lake, a quick glance reveals that the Oaks here are already green with new leaves.

Bluebells and Yellow Archangel.

 

A path leads me through a patch of bluebells mixed with Yellow Archangel, which Edith referred to as Yellow Weasel's Snout. Two Carder bees are visiting the flowers.

Looking up at a big oak, just coming into leaf.

The oak that I saw from across the water is a lovely big tree that makes a fine silhouette against the sky. As I look up, a group of ducks fly over.  A red-tailed bumble bee is bumbling around the flowers and foliage at its feet.

Fresh Oak leaves and tassels of Oak flowers

As I follow the trail, a younger tree has branches low enough for me to take a good look at the tassel flowers. 

A view of Resorts World from the woodland.

There is a tremendous amount of bird song in this wood.  A sudden rustle attracts my attention and I see a squirrel running up a tree.

oak apples.

Further along, a large tree has oak apples, which are the homes of a tiny gall wasp.  Although the wood is heavily used by hotel guests, there are many wild plants and the promise of flowers to come. Wild Arum is sending up spears, and there are large clumps of foxglove and honeysuckle leaves.

Bluebells near the Hilton Metropole.

If I pick my view carefully, I can see just a lovely sweep of bluebells and trees.

Looking towards NEC halls.

Finally the big NEC halls come back into view and I continue my walk.

Huge Oak - 3 hugs!

The bluebells gradually thin out. Just before the end of the green area, just beyond the hotel, there is a huge, ancient oak. It would take three people to get their arms round it.  I wonder just how many years it has been there and am thankful that the NEC developers had the sense to work round this irreplaceable giant.  When Edith walked and cycled round the countryside, it is quite likely that she passed this already mature tree.

I had to carry my cycle ...

Edith's entry for 10th March 1906 describes seeing birds with nesting materials and a variety of wildflowers. She was clearly very determined to find particular flowers and says:

I had to carry my cycle nearly a quarter of a mile down a steep, muddy fordrough set thick with thorns, with high banks on each side. On these sheltered banks I found numbers of small celandine blossom ...

If you were wondering, the Topographical and Land-Use Terms page of John Morris Jones' site, tells us that fordrough means farm track. I am in awe of this young woman who, encumbered by long skirts and carrying a heavy Edwardian bicycle down a rough muddy track, explored and found the flowers she was looking for. My little walks have been far easier. This week I stayed at the Crowne Plaza hotel from Tuesday the 8th to Thursday the 10th of March, which is at the edge of the Pendigo lake in the NEC complex.

Gorse and Traveller's Joy.

I didn't have to go far to find my first wildflowers. There is a Gorse bush, smothered in its own yellow flowers and the fluffy seedheads of Traveller's Joy (clematis) just outside the hotel.  The Traveller's Joy is particularly apt as it is a friendly and well-placed hotel. I found Colt's Foot flowers while walking round the South East edge of Pendigo lake. This was first thing in the morning on Wednesday the 9th of March, 110 years and 5 days after Edith recorded finding some while on "a long walk".

Coots near the Crowne Plaza.

Coming back to the hotel, I found a pair of cheeky Coots grazing the newly laid turf just outside, having taken over lawn mowing duties from the rabbits that were there the previous night.

Sky Walk - close to the site of the former Pendigo buildings.

In Edith's time, the area was already associated with the name Pendigo. However it was a cluster of buildings, presumably a farm, rather than the lake that is there today. The buildings were roughly where NEC hall 5 is now, just south of the Sky Walk. Hall 5 is one of the halls being used for Crufts this year.

While I was staying at the Crowne Plaza, the NEC was preparing for Crufts.

My Thursday morning walk to the office was enlivened by trails of dogs, from stumpy bulldogs to tiny Chihuahuas converging on the NEC. In 1906, when Edith wrote her diary, Crufts had been running for 15 years under Charles Cruft and was held in Islington. The best champion (the forerunner of Best in Show) was a Scotch Collie called Wishaw Leader. Both Crufts and Pendigo have come a long way since then.