Trust tracking down Borders bats

Experts and volunteers from conservation charity the National Trust for Scotland check on whether any bats have made their home at the Priorwood and Harmony gardens in Melrose on Thursday 26 June.

Experts and volunteers from conservation charity the National Trust for Scotland check on whether any bats have made their home at the Priorwood and Harmony gardens in Melrose on Thursday 26 June.

The gardens, which are cared for by the Trust, are some of the seventeen Trust properties holding bat surveys over the next few weeks.

Trust wildlife experts believe there may be a bat roost at Harmony Garden and are hopeful of spotting signs of bats during the visit next week. There are no known bat roosts or residents at Priorwood.

The charity is keen to establish exactly where the bats live and which species are present, as part of its ongoing work to protect and conserve the legally-protected mammals and their roosts. The project is part-funded by Scottish Natural Heritage.

Mr Lindsay Mackinlay, Nature Conservation Adviser said:

“Bats can be tricky to find because they are so small. They can squeeze into incredibly tight gaps and live in inaccessible parts of buildings and trees. We are quite hopeful of spotting some bats in the grounds at Harmony, as we suspect there may be a roost somewhere, but we just don’t know about Priorwood. Either way, it’s important to check so that we can make sure these creatures and their habitats are not disturbed.”