The Bat Detective - Book and CD set is the perfect accompaniment to go with the bat detectors we sell at NatureCounters.
In 56 pages the book explains in clear and simple terms how to use a bat detector to identify different types of bats from their echolocation calls and behaviour.
The 48 track CD contains example calls of the most common bat types found in the UK, helping bat enthusiasts to identify the different calls they hear with their bat detectors.
Amazon has the following review of "The Bat Detective - Book and CD":
***** Great Book and CD Combo
by A.Knott
At 56 pages, this little book is a mine of information about bats. It is supplied with a 48-track CD of bat detector sounds of 13 of the 16 species of bats living in Britain today, as well as tones for calibrating your bat detector - very handy for complete beginners and enthusiasts alike.
I was amazed by the first two pages in the book, called Bat Facts: for example, did you know that bats account for a quarter of all mammal species in the world, and make up half of our mammal population in Britain? If you love bats, this is great news. If not, bolt your windows!
The rest of the book describes how to identify the kind of bats you are likely to encounter near your home. Briggs and King emphasise that it is fascinating detective work (hence the name of the book). Of course, the ultrasonic echolocation sounds that bats create to hunt for prey, brought into the human hearing range by various kinds of bat detectors, are the main clue, but there are many others described for each bat in the book - where they fly, how they fly, and where they tend to roost.
There are three kinds of bat detector, and this book and the CD of recordings of typical echolocation calls, assume you have the heterodyne type, most common among enthusiasts and beginners. The book describes in simple detail how to develop the skill to interpret what you are hearing on a heterodyne detector.
Bats are everywhere, and you have may rare bats living near you, particularly if you live in the West Country. My family have found a fantastic new hobby, and this book is a really good starting point. I wish it had all 16 UK bats (we do in Somerset), but I still give it 5 stars.
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