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Q: The very small bats that fly around my garden late evening around late august early November time, are they a protected species?
Yours truly, Mr M Whittard

A: Well, without even knowing the identity of your bats, the answer to your question is yes, they are protected!

There are 17 species of in Britain and they are all protected by law due to the dramatic decline in numbers of many species in recent decades.

It is highly likely that the bats you have seen in your garden are common pipistrelles. This is the most common and numerous bat species in the UK. It's also the smallest and the one most frequently seen feeding in parks and in gardens on summer evenings. It comes out quite early, often before sunset and feeds on small flying insects before retiring to its summer roost site for a well earned rest. All British bats hibernate, with pipistrelles starting their hibernation in about mid November and emerging again in April.

Although the common pipistrelle is protected by British Law, it is not included on the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) list of threatened species as numbers are still relatively high.