As part of the Wilder Horsham District project I’ve been spending a lot of time in graveyards (even though I’m going to spend an awful lot of time in one in the future). They are great places for wildlife and, as autumn approached, they are good places to look for pipistrelle bats.

At this time of year adult pipistrelles are joined by their pups who are taking their maiden flights. The night sky above the Horsham district is a battlefield of deafening cries as pipistrelles swoop and swirl, plummet and pounce at their insect prey.

The acrobatic anarchy overhead goes unnoticed by us humans. Our hearing is limited and when it comes to night vision, we’re as blind as, well, something with really bad eyesight… in fact anything but a bat. Bats have excellent vision. But it certainly isn’t their best sense.

Echolocation is one of the animal world’s most incredible superpowers. A pipistrelle shouts, the shout hits something and bounces back.

This echo is instantly analysed in a remarkable brain which tells the bat how far away the object is and whether it’s a mosquito, a moth or a church. To get the maximum information from their echo pipistrelles yell at high frequencies (45 kHz, we can only hear up 20 kHz). And these shouts are loud; pneumatic drill/jet fighter loud. Up to 110 decibels in some species.

A bat would deafen itself if it heard its own shout. So, pipistrelles have to disengage their ears then shout, turn their hearing back on, listen for the echo, analyse, then start over again.

All at the rate of 10-15 times a second. This gives bats a phenomenal, multi-layered awareness of their surroundings. Imagine driving down the A272 and not just being aware of the cars in front but also every tree, house, bee and fly that you pass.

It’s tricky (and impolite) to shout when you’re eating and once a moth is in the mouth the bat has to chew-shout-listen-chew-shout-listen to avoid a collision.

There are 17 species of bat in Sussex. Our smallest – the common pipistrelle – is also the one you’re most likely to see around your gardens.

Back in the 80’s there were just four TV channels, two types of videocassette and one species of pipistrelle in Britain. But in the 90’s scientists discovered that some pipistrelles were echolocating at higher frequencies (55 kHz); a Montserrat Caballé to the common pipistrelle’s Freddie Mercury.

These are the soprano pipistrelles. There’s now a third: Nathusius’ pipistrelle. By affixing lightweight metal rings to this species’ wings, researchers have discovered that these bats are migrating to Sussex from as far away as Latvia. An amazing journey for an amazing animal.

By Michael Blencowe: Learning & Engagement Officer, Sussex Wildlife Trust


Sussex Wildlife Trust is an independent registered charity caring for wildlife and habitats throughout Sussex.


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Pipistrelle Barry Yates Sussex Wild life Trust