Western Power has identified one of the largest roosting colonies of the Gould's Wattled Bat near the top of a transmission pole in the suburb of Padbury.
Unfortunately, the pole was scheduled for replacement in anticipation for the new Padbury substation so Western Power sought advice from the Department of Environment and Conservation and an external fauna consultant, on how best to relocate the colony.
Prior to pole replacement and subsequent closure of the roosting site, the external fauna consultant recommended that Western Power provide artificial roosting sites, which might encourage the bats to relocate locally and to maintain the number of potential roosting sites in the area. In response, Western Power installed four bat roosting boxes within the Pinnaroo Valley Memorial Park in Padbury.
On the night of the roost closure, the bats left their roosting site on the pole for their nightly feed. Once the roost was empty, Western Power personnel filled the cavity with a polyurethane expanding foam to prevent them from returning.
Western Power is hopeful the Gould's Wattled Bat will take up residence locally and roost in one of the new roosting boxes.
Western Power regularly monitors and records the use of the boxes by bats and other fauna and measures the long-term success of the bat project.
Page update on 31 January 2007
