Bats and Starlings Wild Week Revisited

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We've just had a spectacular aerial display from lots of swifts.

There are the odd ones still in the sky here.

But we're really here to see bats.

And this estate has eight species on it.

That's all of what's available in Northern Ireland.

And I have to say, why are we going to catch one here?

Emma Boston is the expert. We'll she if she can.

All of the swifts are going to bed

and we're waiting for the bats to come out.

Looks like Emma needs the patience of a heron standing there

fishing for them.

We got one!

-Wow!

-OK, it's pretty tiny.

Well, going by its size, I'd say this is a pipistrelle bat.

You can see here that the tragus in the ear is an identifying feature.

-OK.

-Also, you can tell... It has a very pale face.

I'd say this is a soprano pipistrelle rather than a common pipistrelle.

One just flew directly over our heads.

And another one!

If you're watching this at home and you have a two pence piece

in your pocket, take it out, put it in your hand and look.

That is the weight of that bat.

You're licensed and trained to touch these,

so I can not put my hands on this creature at all.

Yeah, that's true, they're a protected species.

But I think, Emma, we really should let this one go,

-let it feed up with the rest of its friends.

-Yeah, definitely.

Here we go. Oh, look at that. Yeah!

And another one going past us, as well.

SCRATCHING

You can actually hear them up underneath the roof there.

Yeah, you can. They're actually quite noisy.

-There's still quite a few to come out.

-Where are they going?

Well, I'd say... We have such a great habitat here in Crom,

these bats probably aren't going too far.

I'd say, probably at the far edge, within a kilometre of the roost site.

So, their habitat is really rich in insects

and they eat an enormous quantity every night.

They do. The average pipistrelle is thought to consume over 3,000 midges.

It's a soprano pipistrelle, so it actually specialises

-in aquatic and small insects.

-They're out, they're on the wing.

But we're actually going to do something really exciting.

We're coming back here at first light.

What's happening here is you get small flocks of birds

coming from north, south, east and west.

They build as dusk approaches until what you have is hundreds,

if not thousands and thousands, of birds swirling like smoke,

like intelligent soot along the skyline here.

And it is one of the most fabulous spectacles you're ever likely

to see. Look, there's a sparrowhawk underneath.

Look at the birds twisting and moving, look at that!

The sparrowhawk is trying to position himself

so he can get in a striking position, but the birds

are moving and circling, a bit like a shark going after a shoal of fish.

There he's going up to meet them. Look at that! Oh, wow!

And that is a perfect demonstration of why these birds

flock together like that.

That was an unsuccessful attempt by the sparrowhawk.

Oh, sparrowhawk, look!

Look! He's got a bird! He's got a bird!

I saw that sparrowhawk take a starling on the wing

as it was coming in to land

and it flew out directly onto the span next to us.

Its talons firmly had that starling in its grip.

My heart's going like crazy.

That is unbelievable to see that! That was very clever.

That bird was hiding in the shrubbery at the far end

of the river there. There's a bird in here now...

More, more, more.

They're being sucked in like confetti down a plug hole.

And when they all turn sideways and show you their wings,

all at the one time... Like that! Oh, like that!

Black magic!

Now you see them, now you don't.

Shifting, pulsing, vibrating.

You know, I'm just going to shut up and let you watch it. It's...

You don't need me telling you about it. That is just glorious!

We're witnessing something here that's happening

by the million right across the UK and Ireland,

at this time, in the winter, every night.

That's it! Oh, my...!

It's like... Ah!

It looked like a great speech bubble.

You know, like in a cartoon.

You hear the rustle and murmur of their wings

and you gain a sense of why they call it a murmuration.

It's... Here they go again!

Look at that.

Like bats going into a cave to roost.

And it's as if the relief of getting under there, getting to safety,

finding a perch for the night, they can suddenly talk, you know?

And all of this magic in the centre of Belfast.

FLAPPING WINGS

Now you see the light.

Moment by moment almost, the light is coming up

and there's more frantic activity.

They're really beginning to go in now.

Just before they turned the camera on,

a long-haired owl came swooping in here trying to catch them.

-So, it's a dangerous time for them, as well.

-It is, definitely.

This is when they're at their most conspicuous.

They're really taking quite a risk, at this point,

-to be in such large numbers.

-Yeah.

You can actually see them crawling up the wall,

disappearing into a crack. This...

I had no idea that they did this!

-Yeah, it's pretty spectacular.

-A real first for me! Classic.

-How long will they live?

-Well, bats...

Actually, it's been found some species can live up to 30 years.

There have been some recorded over 40.

So, for the size of a bat, it's interesting they can live so long.

I thought they were short-lived - they're so small.

Yeah, and they have a high metabolism.

Generally, that means it's a short-lived species.

But they can live for quite some time.

I have to tell you...

two hours of sleep to come and see this,

and I'd do it all over again.

I really do have to say it, I didn't know they did this.

I've never seen it before. It's a real first. Thanks a million.

It's absolutely perfect.

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