In the last years, the church attic was inhabited by the 300-400 specimen colony of the Greater Mouse-eared bat.
The church roof was in a bad shape, jeopardizing the construction stability and, consequently, the existence of the roost. Despite the Spartan conditions, the bats kept returning to their roost every Summer. However, the major repair could no longer be postponed, and, because of the bats, it had to be done in Fall-Winter season. Additional challenge was the extent of the repair where not only the roof cover but also the construction had to be replaced.
There are some important conditions, determining the suitability of a place for bat roost and the reproduction success, such as the microclimate, safety (no life threats nor disturbance), vicinity of feeding grounds. Additional modifications of the attic space, implemented by the project team, help to obtain the proper microclimate, independent of the outer weather. The odour, which the wood takes after the bats, may be a confirmation for the animals that they returned to a right place.
That’s why, the pieces of old wood taken from where the bats used to concentrate where used to build the heat chambers. The chambers prevent excessive ventilation and allow the warm air to stagnate, and additionally they block the light.
A monitoring visit to Nowosielce revealed that about 400 bats that returned to their colony, concentrated in the three smaller groups, all of them hanging inside the chambers, and on the old wood. Bats evidently accepted the renovation and we hope the colony will not only stay but the adaptations would forward its development over the years to come.
