Are there some types of bat that make a noise that humans can hear?

Question

I only ask as I was in the garden this evening (just a few moments ago in fact) and I thought I heard something strange but when I turned there was nothing. Heard the same noise again and when I looked closely I could see two bats flying around the garden.

I always thought that human hearing couldn't hear the sounds bats make-or does that just apply to the echo location noises?

I know it seems strange but I definately heard them BEFORE I saw them (I was actually worried it was something smaller and furrier as we live in the countryside).

Thank you in advance for saving my sanity!

LOL stewie!

Thanks all, sanity restored ;-)

Answer 1

Yes, you can hear bats making noise; kind of like a high pitched squeek or eek. I enjoy watching them fly around our place, too.

Answer 2

I have had experience raising a baby pipistrelle and when I held him close I could definately hear him making these click-click clicking sounds. So I learned to imitate them and he replied quite loudly.
Once he was ready to be released to the nearest colony, I would stand in the field at dusk with him on the palm of my outstretched hand, and we'd click away together.
All the bats swooped around us, really close, in response. It felt really spooky and my hairs stood on end, even though I am not afraid of bats and I loved this baby.
Finally, he felt confident enough to fly off with them.
It was an amazing experience, but I am sure all neighbours who saw that thought I was totally mad or a witch or something, because they couldn't see the baby - only me standing there with all these bats coming to me.
I often think of him and whenever I see a bat these evenings, I click to it.
Anyway, if I could hear a Pipistrelle, and my hearing isn't that good due to loud rock music when I was young, I am sure other bats can be heard too!
P.S. If you google search "Bats" on the web, some sites have recordings you can listen to. Sorry, I have no links; it was 5 years ago when I did it. But you might be able to identify the sound you heard!

Answer 3

Cricket bats

Answer 4

You can hear bats. In the UK, they are small and make an almost inaudible squeak, and no flapping sound. If you don't see them, and don't have a really quiet garden, you wouldn't know that they are there.

Answer 5

Bats use echolocation to find their prey so they don't need to be super quiet. I have often heard them squeaking or flapping. Hearing their flapping is one way I can tell the difference between them and birds, especially in the evening when it is getting dark outside.

Answer 6

There is this old bat that lives down the street. When the kids get in her yard you can hear her all the way in town.

Answer 7

If the conditions are right (ie a bit windy), and it's a vampire bat that's slaked it's thirst for blood, it might be i bit woozy, so if it lived near a heavily wooded area and you where in range, it might just be possible to hear it splat against a tree! Happy hunting.

Answer 8

you basically isn't listening to the bats. i'm surrounded by employing skill of area here and at evening time we get considered one of those oyster catchers (extreme pitched weee-weeee-weeee) and each each now and then swifts & swallows at dusk. I see bats flying around too, besides the undeniable fact that they are inaudible...regardless of 'large' listening to

Answer 9

Some younger people can hear them, but for most people it is out of their range of hearing. Hearing fades with age unfortunately.
It can give children quite a shock when they hear them shriek.

Answer 10

some bats vocal range slightly overlap our hearing range .hope this helps