Join bat expert John Goldsmith for an evening this Thursday [24 November] discovering the secret lives of these nocturnal creatures. Research has recently confirmed that bats traded their sense of smell and sight for their ability to locate prey through the sonar system of echolocation* Even more reason to learn about bats in Norfolk following a hearty supper.
Taking place at Cley Marshes’ purpose-built education building, the Simon Aspinall Wildlife Education Centre, with supper at 7pm followed by a talk at 7.45pm, this brand new bat talk will help you learn more about the mysterious lives of bats.
Speaker John Goldsmith, an ecological consultant who has recorded the county’s bat species for over 50 years, will teach you all about the ecology, conservation and behaviour of Norfolk bats.
On-site parking is free. For NWT members a charge of £10 applies, and £12 for non-members (includes supper).
John said, “Bats were a forgotten group of mammal species for many years, probably because of the difficulty of finding them and seeing them. There are over 1300 species worldwide and they play an important ecological role in many habitats as seed dispersers and insect ‘pest controllers’. Almost a quarter of our land mammal species in the UK are bats. Conserving the thirteen bat species we have in Norfolk is not an easy task, although they are fully protected. In the talk, we will look at all the species present and where they live, how they live and the many and various threats they have to contend with to stay alive. This will include some of the work undertaken to encourage and conserve them, with a review of the work and observations I have carried out on them in the county over the past fifty years.”
2016 marks the 90th anniversary of Norfolk Wildlife Trust. They are celebrating with events right across the county, for details see
www.wildat90.org.uk
The barbastelle bat is one of our 9 for 90 species, read more about it on our website
www.norfolkwildlifetrust.org.uk/wild-at-90/9-for-90