2025-09-03

Bat walk on 28 August 2025 

Announcement: The council's Ecology Officer, Simone Turner, will lead a bat walk in Fulham Cemetery on Thursday, 28 August. It will start at 19:50 and finish around 21:15. The event is free and everyone is welcome, including well behaved dogs and children. Wear suitable clothing and shoes and bring a small torch. The event will be cancelled in case of rain.

Update 3 September 2025

The bat walk was well attended by over 40 people, young and old. 

Simone writes:

An informal bat walk took place at Fulham Cemetery on Thursday the 28th of September, starting at 7.50pm and ending at 9.15pm. Weather conditions were suitable if not ideal, with no rainfall during the walk, scattered clouds and a temperature between 15 and 20 degrees Celsius.

Two species were recorded during the walk. Two Soprano Pipistrelles were recorded commuting over the north of the site shortly after sunset. It is unclear whether these individuals foraged in a different area of the site or continued to commute to another location. Common Pipistrelles were found commuting and foraging across the entire site, using both open grassy areas and sheltered tree lines. The areas circled in red in the map below seemed particularly popular for foraging activity. The exact number of individuals cannot be determined, but certainly over 10 individuals.

No roosts have been confirmed onsite, but there certainly is potential for pipistrelles to be using buildings and/or trees both within and surrounding the site. Only formal bat surveys would be able to confirm the presence of a roost.

I would recommend visiting the long grass area in the blue square on the next bat walk, as this particular area was not surveyed on either the 2025 or 2024 walk.