New defences have been added to Fort Henry and other historic wartime bunkers in Studland – not to safeguard the village, but to protect its rarest residents.
Nearly all of the UK’s 17 species of bats live in Purbeck, and five species have so far been spotted using the World War Two bunkers at Studland, which are ideal hibernation sites for the flying mammals.
Access to Fort Henry’s observation platform will still be available, while protecting the bats’ favoured roosts
Exactly what bats need in winter
The National Trust, working with Dorset Bat Group and the county’s very own bat man Colin Morris, has added metal grilles to the historic bunkers to prevent people entering the areas where bats are roosting, although this doesn’t include the main observation platform at Fort Henry.
Fort Henry is an observation bunker, built in 1943 to defend Studland Bay from possible German invasion, and famously used by Winston Churchill, King George VI and Franklin D Roosevelt to watch rehearsals for D-Day, including trials of floating tanks.
The three other bunkers on Godlingston Heath were built as gun emplacements, but all of the buildings are now cold, humid places with a stable temperature, and sheltered from the rain and wind – exactly what bats need in winter.
So far, common pipistrelle bats, soprano pipistrelles, greater horseshoe bats, long eared bats and a type of mouse eared bat have been identified at the sites. Regular monitoring will go on to establish whether the bunkers are also being used by bats in the summer.
Long eared bats are one of five bat species already identified in Studland since December 2024
“Protect these fascinating creatures”
Michelle Brown, National Trust ecologist, said:
“This is one of many projects across Dorset that volunteers from the bat group are helping us with, and we are hugely grateful for their support.
“Roost checks and monitoring with acoustic detectors have already identified five species of bat using the bunkers. It’s great to know that these bats are now safe, and we can continue learning more about them.
“Purbeck is already an important place for bats, with 15 of 17 species of breeding UK bats found here. But bats are under threat nationally from many things including building work, pesticides and lack of insects, their main food source.
“So, we want to be doing all we can to understand and protect these fascinating creatures.”
The bat man of Dorset, Colin Morris, has made Studland’s wartime bunkers more bat friendly
A greater horsehoe bat, from one of the colonies wintering at Studland
“Difficult for bats to fly through”
The grilles were designed and installed by Colin Morris, known as the ‘bat man’ of Dorset because of his dedication to these protected animals.
He constructed the grilles with horizontal bars, with enough space between them for one of the biggest species of Dorset bat, the greater horseshoe, to fly through.
Colin Morris said:
“The large bunker behind the observation platform at Fort Henry had been broken into on several occasions but the repairs to the gates, with vertical bars and narrow gaps, made it difficult for bats to fly through.
“The new grilles have only been in place since December, which is the hibernation period, so to have already recorded four species using the Godlingston Heath bunkers and greater horseshoe bats in Fort Henry, is quite astonishing.”
Bat grilles on Godlingston Heath allow easy access for the flying mammals
One of the grilles that have been fitted at Fort Henry to encourage and protect bat roosts
“Fantastic that people are working together”
Colin added:
“Bat detectors have been used to collect the data, as many bats can be identified by their sounds. But the detectors can’t determine the numbers of bats using the bunkers, just the amount of activity.
“So the extra information we need is gathered by monthly checkups when members of the Dorset Bat Group go into the bunkers, under licence, and do a count.
“It’s fantastic that all these people are working together for the benefit of bats. There has been little research into how bats use these smaller sites, so now we have the chance to do some robust long-term monitoring.
“The scientific data we gather will help inform conservation and landscape management practices across Dorset.”
Planting honeysuckle will attract moths, the favourite food of many Dorset moths
Plant night-scented flowers
Purbeck families are also being urged to help bats in their own homes and gardens by planting night scented flowers, such as evening primrose and honeysuckle, as they will attract moths, which are the favourite food of most bats.
Installing and maintaining garden ponds gives bats a source of drinking water and flying insects to eat, while putting up bat boxes can also provide them with safe roosting sites.
As well as planting the right flowers, looking after a garden paying attention to moths and their caterpillars will encourage a riot of colour with a diverse range of plants, shrubs, grasses and flowers to provide food for them.
Insects will also benefit from areas of long grass and wild plants being left without mowing, and dead plant matter shouldn’t automatically be cleared up at the end of the year, as caterpillars and pupae may overwinter there.
A common pipistrelle bat, one of the species spotted at Studland
Further information
- Find out more about local bat groups on the Dorset Wildlife Trust website
