Bat safari at home
Posted: Fri Jun 08, 2012 5:39 pm
The place where you live can seem somewhat humdrum after a while. That's why it is fantastic to see your own neighbourhood.
In Malmö we have far too many geese, far too many seagulls, far too many rooks and jackdaws, more pigeons than we need and far too many rabbits. We also have various other birds, and people are out walking their dogs all the time. Apart from that, however, you don't see too many animals in Malmö.
So when I read in my local paper that there would be a bat safari in my local park, Pildammsparken which is just across the street from where I live, I was kind of astounded. At first I thought I couldn't take part, since the walk through the park would start at 9.30 p.m., and this was the eclipse night, too. I would have to get up scandalously early to be at the Oxie Observatory at 5 a.m. Chances were I would get no sleep at all that night, but fortunately the following day was our national holiday when we don't have to go to work, so I decided it was worth it.
So any way, Pildammsparken! In the picture above, my house is at the lower left. The safari would start at the water tower of Pildammsparken, which you can discern faintly on the left side of the lake of Pildammsparken.
So when we came to to the water tower at 9.30 p.m., everything was "normal". The Sun hadn't set, although it was very low, so it was broad daylight. Everything looked the way it always does. There are three little "fountains" on the lake of Pildammsparken, and they were spouting water just like always.
But soon dusk was falling.
Pildammsparken was created in 1914, when Malmö was prettified because it was going to host the 1914 Baltic exhibition. All nations around the Baltic Sea took part, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia and obviously Sweden. In the picture on the right, you can see some of the beautiful "temporary buildings" that were created for the exhibition, but which no longer exist.
But some things remain from the Baltic Exhibition, such as this "pseudo-Roman temple" among the beech trees which were all planted in 1914.
And of course, another thing that remains, in its relatively modest Gothic glory, is the water tower.
Anyway, back to the bat safari! When darkness fell, a totally unexpected and slightly amazing "light show" was seen over the the water of the lake. Light was projected into the water spouting out of the three fountains, and amazing colors and patterns were seen dancing over the lake. There were huge "abstract paintings", whirling colorful spirals, and something which would have been the dead ringer for the Eye of Sauron, if it had been red instead of green. It was, almost, as if the lake had been taken over by life forms that were not human.
Our group walked among the shadows of the park, looking at geese which had settled on the grass near the water for the night, preparing for goose-sleep. A few frogs were "ribit-ing" in the darkness, and our guide shone his torch at some rocks in the small pond of the park. The head of a small frog was seen in the middle of the light-cone, between two rocks. Some Eurasian Coots were chasing each other across the water, disturbing the nightly peace, with their white beaks and foreheads gleaming ghostly in the night.
The night looked strange and wonderful around us, but we were chasing bats. I had never seen a single bat in Malmö before.
Our guide had brought "bat-detectors". You aim them in the direction where you think there might be bats. The detector detects the bat-sounds and and "translates" it into sounds that humans can hear. We walked around in the park, aiming our bat detectors skywards.
At first we heard nothing.
But suddenly one bat detector started "clicking" like a Geiger counter!
And then we heard more bat sounds. And still more. And we saw them, flying among the trees and skimming the water of the lake.
Wow. Incredible. My "home park", my "sort of mundane" park, was all strange and wonderful and "almost well-known" at the same time.
Pildammsparken turned into "Shrödinger's Bat", and an outlier of Potter-world, too!
Ann
In Malmö we have far too many geese, far too many seagulls, far too many rooks and jackdaws, more pigeons than we need and far too many rabbits. We also have various other birds, and people are out walking their dogs all the time. Apart from that, however, you don't see too many animals in Malmö.
Pildammsparken. Source: http://malmo.se/4.56d99e38133491d8225800065870.html
So any way, Pildammsparken! In the picture above, my house is at the lower left. The safari would start at the water tower of Pildammsparken, which you can discern faintly on the left side of the lake of Pildammsparken.
Photo: Izet
So when we came to to the water tower at 9.30 p.m., everything was "normal". The Sun hadn't set, although it was very low, so it was broad daylight. Everything looked the way it always does. There are three little "fountains" on the lake of Pildammsparken, and they were spouting water just like always.
Photo: Anders Rörgren
But soon dusk was falling.
The Baltic Exhibition. Source: http://hs-m.hush.se/?p=14723
Pildammsparken was created in 1914, when Malmö was prettified because it was going to host the 1914 Baltic exhibition. All nations around the Baltic Sea took part, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia and obviously Sweden. In the picture on the right, you can see some of the beautiful "temporary buildings" that were created for the exhibition, but which no longer exist.
But some things remain from the Baltic Exhibition, such as this "pseudo-Roman temple" among the beech trees which were all planted in 1914.
And of course, another thing that remains, in its relatively modest Gothic glory, is the water tower.
Fireworks over the water. Painting by Kyle Foster.
Anyway, back to the bat safari! When darkness fell, a totally unexpected and slightly amazing "light show" was seen over the the water of the lake. Light was projected into the water spouting out of the three fountains, and amazing colors and patterns were seen dancing over the lake. There were huge "abstract paintings", whirling colorful spirals, and something which would have been the dead ringer for the Eye of Sauron, if it had been red instead of green. It was, almost, as if the lake had been taken over by life forms that were not human.
Our group walked among the shadows of the park, looking at geese which had settled on the grass near the water for the night, preparing for goose-sleep. A few frogs were "ribit-ing" in the darkness, and our guide shone his torch at some rocks in the small pond of the park. The head of a small frog was seen in the middle of the light-cone, between two rocks. Some Eurasian Coots were chasing each other across the water, disturbing the nightly peace, with their white beaks and foreheads gleaming ghostly in the night.
The night looked strange and wonderful around us, but we were chasing bats. I had never seen a single bat in Malmö before.
At first we heard nothing.
And then we heard more bat sounds. And still more. And we saw them, flying among the trees and skimming the water of the lake.
Wow. Incredible. My "home park", my "sort of mundane" park, was all strange and wonderful and "almost well-known" at the same time.
Pildammsparken turned into "Shrödinger's Bat", and an outlier of Potter-world, too!
Ann
Wow, if we had detected Batman and Robin, we sure would have caught two fat bats for the price of one!
