Bats

With glossy black fur on the head grading to brown on the lower back, Gould's Wattled Bat is one of the most regularly encountered bats in the Sydney area. They often roost within the roofs of buildings, sometimes for the birth and raising of young. Twins are normally born in October or November and are independent by 6 weeks. A previously used maternity roost is located in the roof of a building adjoining Newington Nature Reserve.

A variety of flying insects are eaten by this bat including moths, beetles, bugs, cockroaches, crickets and ants. Preferred foraging areas include the edges of forest patches as well as in gaps in the canopy.

With a wingspan of nearly one metre and weight of up to one kilogram, the Grey-headed Flying-fox is a conspicuous bat. They are often noticed at night by their raucous social calls as they compete for food. In urban settings, this includes the fruits of Moreton Bay Figs, palms and other rainforest plants as well as the nectar of eucalypts, banksias, paperbarks and the leaves of mangroves. During the day they "hang out" in camps generally located in rainforest gullies or along rivers or creeks. At dusk they leave for feeding areas up to 40 kilometres from the camps. Numbers at the camps may vary from several hundred individuals up to many thousands. Grey-headed Flying-foxes feeding at Sydney Olympic Park may travel from camps located at the Sydney Royal Botanic Gardens, Gordon or Cabramatta.

A single young born in September or October is fully furred and alert. The young are left in a group in the camp while females feed in surrounding areas.

The Grey-headed Flying-fox has recently been listed as vulnerable under the Threatened Species Conservation Act, 1995 and the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, 1999. While it appears to have suffered a severe decline throughout most of its range, it still occurs in reasonable numbers within the Sydney basin.

The distinctive long ears of the Lesser Long-eared Bat assist it to locate prey. It is different to other microbats within Sydney Olympic Park in that much of its prey is located using passive hearing, sight and smell, rather than solely by use of echolocation whilst in flight. It often hunts for insects found on or close to the ground such as beetles, cockroaches and ants, but will also hunt for insects in flight such as moths. The species occurs throughout the year within the Eucalypt and Casuarina forests of the Newington Nature Reserve, and by day it often roosts under the bark of live and dead trees. Single young or twins are born in spring. Breeding sites include the roof and wall cavities of buildings located near the Newington Nature Reserve.

The Lesser Long-eared Bat is not considered threatened on a State or National level, but its numbers are declining within the Sydney basin. This population is the closest known breeding colony to the Sydney CBD, and was estimated at less than 100 individuals in 2001.

Another bat that regularly uses buildings for daytime shelter, the Little Freetail Bat has dark grey/brown fur, and wrinkled lips. As the name indicates, its tail protrudes from the tail membrane for much of its length. Confusion currently exists regarding the appropriate scientific name for this bat that extends along the east coast from Cape York to southern Victoria.

This species feeds on bugs, ants, beetles and moths that it catches in flight. Within the Park, it has been recorded feeding around wetlands, saltmarsh as well as around artificial lights. A probable maternity roost of this bat is located in a building adjacent to Newington Nature Reserve and is shared with the White-striped Mastiff Bat. A single young is born in late November.

A relatively plain bat, the Eastern Broad-nosed Bat is a warmish brown on the head and back with slightly lighter fur on its chest.

Roosts are located within tree hollows but this bat also regularly roosts within roof cavities of buildings in the Sydney basin. Roosts within buildings are often shared with other microbats including Gould's Wattled Bat and the Little Freetail Bat. The diet of this species is unknown but is likely to consist of flying insects.  Bats of this species are often observed over waterbodies including rivers and streams. A single young is born in late November or early December.

With thick, glossy auburn fur, vivid white stripes along the sides of the belly, wrinkled lips and large ears the White-striped Mastiff Bat is a striking animal. It's long narrow wings are adapted for fast direct flight as it forages for large insects including moths, beetles and grasshoppers above the forest canopy and over wetlands.  Unlike most of the other microbats from Sydney Olympic Park, its echolocation calls are audible to humans. These calls, a loud "chink.......chink......chink" carry for at least several hundred metres. It normally roosts during the day within hollows in trees but has also been recorded roosting within buildings. A colony of up to 100 individuals has been recorded roosting within a building adjoining the Newington Nature Reserve. If this is a maternity roost as it appears, it would represent the only breeding colony of this species known from the Sydney area. While it is currently uncertain if the White-striped Mastiff Bat is present within the Park throughout the year, there is some evidence from other studies suggesting that it migrates north during winter.

Until its detection at the Park in 2002, the Little Bent-wing Bat wasn't known to occur south of the Hawkesbury River. This bat was recorded at Bicentennial Park during autumn 2002 from its distinctive echolocation calls. Like the Large Bent-wing Bat, with which it often shares roosts, females migrate long distances in spring to maternity roosts. Only one maternity roost, located near Kempsey, is known within New South Wales. At this site females rely on greater numbers of the Large Bent-wing Bat to elevate the temperature and humidity within the cave. During the winter months the bats disperse to roost in smaller groups.

The Little Bent-wing Bat is listed as vulnerable under state legislation on Schedule 2 of the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995.

The Large Bent-wing Bat is only present within Sydney Olympic Park from March until September. It forages for flying insects, particularly moths, above and around the canopy of forested areas and also feeds around artificial lights where insects are concentrated. During spring, females migrate several hundred kilometres from Sydney to maternity roosts, which are normally located in limestone cave systems. Up to one hundred thousand females may gather to bear a single young each, and, in the process, their large numbers elevate the temperature and humidity within the cave, thus speeding up the development of the young. During the winter months the bats disperse to roost in smaller groups in scattered localities including Sydney Olympic Park. It does not appear to roost within the parklands during the day, but has been recorded roosting in stormwater drains in the surrounding suburbs.

The Large Bent-wing Bat is listed as vulnerable under state legislation on Schedule 2 of the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995.