January: Bats spend most of the winter months hibernating, this means they go into a state of inactivity by lowering their metabolic rate, lowering their body temperature and slowing their breathing.
February: They are beginning to leave their roosts on warmer nights to find food as their body fat reserves are wearing thin.
March: Signs of activity increases with small numbers feeding at night as the temperature increases. However, in bad weather they may become torpid
April: Most bats have now come out of hibernation and are increasingly active-feeding most nights. They may relocate between different roosts and still can become torpid if the temperature becomes cold again.
May: Now fully active the males stay within small groups or alone and the females will begin to form maternity colonies searching for a suitable nursery roost.
June: The adult bats will now be catching thousands of insects each night. Females will have their young, which is usually one single pup. Young bats are extremely small being less than an inch long!
July: Mothers will continue to feed their young. Some bats grow rapidly and are almost fully sized and at around three weeks. Juvenile bats are sometimes found on the ground as they learn the ropes of flying.
August: When the young bats have reached 6 weeks old, they will begin to catch their own insects and no longer depend on their mothers. The summer maternity colonies start to disperse, and bats will move to mating roosts.
September: The beginning of mating season. Most species use calls to attract the females, these calls can include buzzing, clicking and purrs. The bats also begin building up fat reserves for the upcoming winter months.
October: The mating season continues as does the build-up of winter fast reserves. Bats will be searching for suitable hibernation sites and beginning periods of torpor.
November: Periods of torpor lengthen, and some begin hibernating to save energy during the winter months when food is harder to find.
December: Hibernation. They may roost individually or in small groups, Often selecting quiet places such as old trees or caves where they hopefully won’t be disturbed.