No. It’s a bat! And, from the long appendages at the front of the creature, it can be identified as a brown long-eared bat. This curious visitor has been spotted at various locations in Tuttington this week.
This cute critter spent a morning flying about and hanging upside down in a Tuttington garden most likely having been tempted out from hibernation by the warm weather in early April.
The brown long-eared bat (Plecotus auritus) has enormous ears. ‘All the better to hear you with’ you can imagine it might utter to its prey, primarily small insects including beetles, spiders, earwigs and moths among others.
It is able to catch its prey on the wing, or when stationary even on the ground. It is known as the whispering bat as its echolocation consists of a series of quiet clicks in the range 25-50 kHz.
Although they are the stuff of nightmares to some, they are in fact harmless to people and will not get caught in your hair!
The brown long-eared bat is in decline in the UK so if you see it in your garden, have a look, take a photo but otherwise leave it alone to get on with its foraging.