Earth Notes: Bats Around our Home aka 16WW (2026)
Updated 2026-10-12.: Too Cold
At Z no bats seen downstream at Villiers Road bridge over the Hogsmill; 8°C. Sunset Z.
: Back!
At Z three bats seen downstream and one upstream at Villiers Road bridge over the Hogsmill; 10°C. Plenty of midges. Sunset Z.
Informally this was the first sighting of bats here by me this calendar year, so I will start regular sampling for this year, and this became a formal sample. (I feel slightly twitchy that retaining this sample may be biasing results.)
: In Company
I was this evening explaining my bat data sampling to a bemused friend with me!
At Z two bats seen downstream and one upstream at Villiers Road bridge over the Hogsmill; 12°C. A few midges. Sunset Z.
: Present Late
At Z three bats seen downstream and one upstream at Villiers Road bridge over the Hogsmill; 10°C. Sunset Z.
: Lone
At Z one bat seen downstream and one upstream (quite likely the same one) at Villiers Road bridge over the Hogsmill; 10°C. Sunset Z.
: None
At Z no bats seen downstream or upstream at Villiers Road bridge over the Hogsmill; 25°C. Lots of midges and larger insects. Sunset Z.
: One
At Z 1 bat seen downstream and none upstream at Villiers Road bridge over the Hogsmill; 17°C. Sunset Z.
: None
At Z no bats seen downstream or upstream at Villiers Road bridge over the Hogsmill; 21°C. Sunset Z.
: 16WW Two
At Z a couple of bats seen above the back garden at 16WW; 26°C. Sunset Z.
: One
At Z 1 bat seen downstream and none upstream at Villiers Road bridge over the Hogsmill; 20°C. Sunset Z.
: Too Light
At Z no bats seen downstream or upstream at Villiers Road bridge over the Hogsmill; 21°C. Sunset Z.
: Too Light
At Z no bats seen downstream or upstream at Villiers Road bridge over the Hogsmill; 18°C. Sunset Z.
: One
At Z 1 bat seen downstream and none upstream at Villiers Road bridge over the Hogsmill; 21°C. Sunset Z.
: Too Soon
At Z no bats seen downstream or upstream at Villiers Road bridge over the Hogsmill; 22°C. Sunset Z. Parakeets were roosting very loudly nearby at the edge of Athelstan Park!
: One
At Z 1 bat seen downstream and 1 upstream at Villiers Road bridge over the Hogsmill; 20°C. Sunset Z.
: One
At Z 1 bat seen downstream and 0 upstream at Villiers Road bridge over the Hogsmill; 14°C. Sunset Z.
: Too Late?
At Z no bats seen downstream or upstream at Villiers Road bridge over the Hogsmill; 20°C. Sunset Z.
: Bat Walk
Kingston Cemetery Nature Group bat walk this evening with ~15 people led by Alison Fure. First bat heard at Z (sunset Z, ~11°C). Seemingly far fewer bats detected than in some previous years.
Bats were reported later at the Hogsmill bridge at Villiers Road. (Not observed by me, so no dataset entry; I did notice one a day or so before but also not officially!) 
