Bats in the mediterranean garden.

Although this bat was dead when I found it in the garden, we appear to have a healthy colony of bats living in the top of our disused water tower. Each evening as the sun sets over the mountains we see them emerge. Their effectiveness at insect pest control is often debated but they are always welcome visitors in our garden.

On an evening we often see bats praying on night flying insects under the street lights of our village. Particularly on roundabouts along the highway.

Myotis alcathoe by a whisker

Myotis alcathoe is the smallest of all whiskered bats and is usually found in Southern Europe in wooded

valleys with deciduous trees near to streams. An established colony has been found in l'Albera mountains

and is being celebrated by naturalists. Environments such as the one described above are becoming much

rarer in southern Europe and the negative impact on bio diversity is apparent.

Bats are a harmless creatures and consume insect pests like mosquitoes in great numbers.

Night flight

The bats have returned with the slightly cooler night air. Plants with evening fragrance are obviously pollinated by the numerous night flying insects around the finca.

An abundance of farms and barns around our home provides the ideal roosting site for the bats.

As the garden develops we will incorporate low voltage lighting in selected areas to both illuminate the plants and also create a theatre for the bats. The lighting needs to be low key to take advantage of the brilliant night sky we experience here. Frequent shooting stars animate the star lit night, though light pollution occurs in the city and tourist zones just a short distance away.