We are lucky to have a variety of mammals living in and passing through Brislington Brook.
Otters
Otters regularly pass along the Brook. Although sightings are rare, they leave their calling card in the form of spraint on large rocks above the waterline. It’s easily recognisable by the presence of fish scales and its sweet fragrance (a bit like jasmine tea).
If you see an otter or identify spraint along Brislington Brook, please contact us so we can add this to our data. Include a photo and a what3words location if possible.
Badgers
There are several badger setts in St. Annes Wood and Nightingale Valley. As badgers are a protected species we do not disclose their location. Badgers live in setts dug into the ground, each containing many different living chambers. Setts have several entrance holes, not all of which may be active at once.
Bats
The woods around the Brook are an excellent home for many different bats. We have at least 5 of the UK’s 17 breeding species present.
During the day bats roost inside dead trees and within the culvert (what’s that? Simpler word?) that runs between the two woods. Bats hibernate from late autumn to late spring. They are much more active in the spring and summer, when females group together in maternity roosts and give birth to a single pup each.
Using bat recorders that pick up their unique echolocation calls, we’ve identified the following species in the woods: Common and soprano pipistrelle, Daubenton’s bat, Lesser horseshoe and Noctule.
With the help of the Avon Bat Group, we’ve installed X bat boxes in St. Annes Wood and Nightingale Valley to provide even more roosting options. You’ll see these boxes high up in trees next to the paths. The boxes are specifically designed for our two pipistrelle species: common and soprano.
FoBB runs bat walks in the woods, led by experts from the Avon Bat Group. We use specialist detectors that turn the bats’ ultrasonic echolocation calls into lower frequencies that can be heard by the human ear. This allows us to identify the species of bat flying above, as each species has a different type of call. You may see bats flying overhead on summer evenings just after sunset.
