A BORDERS wildlife group spent three nights collecting data for a national bat survey.

The Border Beasties group took part in the survey in September, using specialist recording equipment loaned to collect the data.

The equipment was placed in locations including the woods in Kingsmeadows, Victoria Park, and near the River Tweed.

After collecting the data, the equipment was sent to the Biggar Museum, which has sent the findings off for expert analysis.

Alison Peason of Border Beasties said: “Altogether we recorded 1,078 passes by bats! This was not individual bats but the number of times a bat was recorded.

“The most common bat was the soprano pipistrelle with 677 passes, followed by the common pipistrelle, Daubenton’s bat, natterer’s bat, Leisler’s bat and the brown long-eared bat.

“We were amazed at the variety of species, as we imagined there might only be pipistrelles, or perhaps Daubenton’s bats.”

She added that the Woodland Trust says the number of trees in the countryside is declining although trees are important not just to bats but to bees and other pollinators.