I’ve posted before about how much I love it when I stand in my quiet garden in the stillness of twilight and the little guys come swooping close. Last night, however, one of them came a bit too close for comfort.
I was walking around a bank of shrubs, newly replete with spring leaves, when I was confronted by the sight of a bat heading at speed for my nose. And it was very close. I assume its echo location system hadn’t picked me up through the foliage. The poor creature was probably as shocked as I was at the prospect of an impending collision. Or maybe not, because its reflexes were obviously better than mine. It wheeled away with only a couple of inches to spare before I had time to duck, and headed off across the garden. My congratulations followed in its wake.
6 comments:
I enjoy watching bats flying around my place too. They sometimes flied very close to me. I was startled but not scared. They are cute.
I've never been startled before, Mei-Shan. Usually they only come to within a foot or two, but this one obviously hadn't picked me up and was heading straight for my face. And it looked huge at such a close distance.
We always get excited when we see the first bats of the year, though it usually doesn't happen until around mid to late June. There have been less of them in recent years, I think people are starting to block the air vents/eaves in their houses as to keep them out. We welcome them, they eat the mosquitoes!
Bats are a highly protected animal in the UK. I'm not sure that it isn't illegal to block up an entrance to any place where they roost.
I noticed our bats have been out and about for a few weeks now. I enjoy watching them in the twilight, swoop and swerve, gobbling up all those bugs!
I have a slight problem, Jeanne, in that I feel sorry for the bugs. But that's nature, I suppose.
Post a Comment