The first event of the Manx Bat Group’s 25th anniversary season takes place this coming Sunday, 24th May, at Silverdale Glen.

Meeting at Silverdale Glen car park at 4:40 am participants will be able to see bats feeding and returning to their roosts. Members of the Manx Bat Group will be on hand with bat detectors to identify the different species seen. On previous walks in the area, several different species have been observed including Leisler’s bat, common and soprano pipistrelles, brown long-eared bat, Daubenton’s bat and other Myotis species.

Chairman of the Manx Bat Group, Mr Nick Pinder, observed: “This will be the first dawn walk that the Manx Bat Group has organised but, apart from the early hour, it is a sensible time to go bat watching as you can see them against a lightening sky and if you’re lucky enough to see them swarming at the roost entrance it is an experience you’ll never forget.”

The Manx Bat Group was formed in 1990 with the aim of finding out more about the bats of the Isle of Man in order to protect and conserve them. The Group now holds records of over a hundred roosts around the Island but always welcomes more records. People can submit records of their sightings via the Bat Group’s website www.manxbatgroup.org.