Having been our most popular and well attended event last year, this early autumn treat should not be missed, if you can possibly help it.
This is the time of year when the youngest of the bats are no longer reliant on their mother for food; they will be out catching insects for themselves. Anyone out for a quiet stroll in the evening, at this time of year, is almost guaranteed to see bats, without trying. Of course, not everyone knows that a bat is what they have just sensed on the extreme periphery of vision; a dark, swift and silent shape that is somehwere else entirely in the time it takes to turn one's head.
Anyone wishing to come on the walk should meet at the new sign, situated some 100 yards inside the main entrance to the park on Bristol Road South, opposite the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital. Matt will give a short introduction before setting off in search of bats, so do not expect anyone to be waiting around much after 7 p.m!!
There will almost certainly be several sightings of the common Pipistrelle.
Expect to also see the Daubenton's bat, out over the lake snatching insects from the surface. [Photograph: Frank from the Blackwater Valley Organization].
Everyone who attends will be given an information leaflet prepared by Steve Foley (Committee wildlife Supremo) to keep as a reminder of what will be a fascinating and fun evening.
Update:
The turn out for this Event was quite phenomonal. Forty or so people enjoyed a pleasant and educational evening in the park. They were rewarded with sightings of an undisclosed (or uncounted) number of bats.
As always, many thanks are extended to the Park Rangers who brought along the ultra-sonic equipment and torches that transformed a stroll in the gathering dusk and early evening darkness into a fascinating and absorbing look at some of the bats that populate our park.
DAB-P (OCT 2011)
