On summer nights these high-flying bats are often on the wing before dark, swooping after insects among swifts and martins. It is a powerful flyer (continental noctule bats regularly migrate hundreds of miles) yet surprisingly is seen only in England, Wales and some parts of Scotland. There is no obvious reason why it has not flown across to Ireland or inhabited all of Scotland.

They are mostly tree dwellers, colonising tree holes in parks and woodlands. Only occasionally will they use a hole in a roof. Sometimes they may experience difficulty in finding roost sites as starlings take over many suitable tree holes.