I have recently been appointed as the Tees Valley Wildlife Bat Officer. I am really excited about this new project and finding out about the bats in our local area. I gave a short presentation about the project at the ERIC conference on Saturday, I am not sure if any of your members were present at this?
Two community events are being held to launch the East Cleveland Batscape project. These events will involve a talk on bats and how to go about detecting them. The talk will also involve a little on why bats are important and some quirky facts. Echolocation calls will be played so that people know what to listen out for during a bat walk. The bat walk will involve going outside with bat detectors to see what is flying around as bats emerge for feeding as the sun goes down.
Friday 8th of May. Saltburn Valley Gardens. The Woodland Centre. 7:30.
Saturday 16th of May. Loftus. The old Co-op building. 7:30.
Both these events are free. It would be great to see members of the Teesmouth Bird club at either event! The bat walk will be relatively easy, but the route will include some inclines and uneven path. The talks will last around 20 minutes and the walks around 30 to 40 minutes. The walk will be followed by some hot soup and to have a chat about the bats that have been seen and heard. If you are planning on coming then please bring a torch and wrap up warm. Drop me an email or phone me at any time.
I would like to run some walks specifically for Teesmouth Bird club to try and recruit some volunteers to help with the survey. Any time between now and the beginning of June, or September and October. Is something members of Teesmouth Bird club would be interested in?
Kind regards,
Sarah Barry
Bat Officer
sbarry@teeswildlife.org
(W) 01287 636382
(Mob) 07527233300
Bats are an important indicator to the health of our local environment.
Bats are protected species and The East Cleveland Batscape project would like volunteers to help us collect data on bats in the area.
An informal workshop is being ran locally to give you the opportunity to learn how to detect bats with special acoustic bat detectors. You can take a walk in your local patch, take a bike ride, or drive around in your car, all whilst collecting valuable data on these unusual creatures to discover where they are roosting and foraging. You can also put detectors in your garden over night. Set up the equipment for us, and undertake a bat walk, cycle or drive and help us discover more about bats and the variety of species we have in the area.
14th June. 10am. Margrove Heritage Centre, Margrove Park, Boosbeck.
Workshops will take about an hour. Children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult.
Booking not essential but if there is a group of you please let us know.
Sarah Barry, Bat Officer on 01287 636382 sbarry@teeswildlife.org