IN PICTURES: Nottinghamshire group on the hunt for rare species of bat

A new pilot programme being lead by local wildlife lovers is aiming to track a rare species of bat across the county.

The Nottinghamshire Bat Group has been chosen to find out more about the Nathusius Pipistrel – a species first seen in Britain forty years ago, but which has remained elusive.

The group is leading a national project run by the Bat Conservation Trust to find out more about the nocturnal wonders, using large bat traps and sound detectors to aid their search.

As darkness falls, they head out into local nature reserves on the hunt for the creatures and they have been buoyed by a rise in the amount being spotted.

Members have also been given lottery funding to carry out the ‘Echo Location Location’ project which is aimed at getting more people interested and to engage with bats.

Bat group member Matt Cook said:  “It’s know to be a migrant bat. It’s known to be one of the few species known to fly quite far distances. This is a project aiming to try and uncover some of the mysteries about its migration habits.

“It’s potentially at risk from wind turbines, onshore and offshore, and also from climate change.”

As part of the scheme, bat detectors will be put up across the county in domestic gardens as well as public spaces with the intention to create a map of Nottinghamshire bat hotspots in three years.

See below for a series of pictures showing a Nathusius Pipistrel bat being recorded and ringed at Attenborough Nature Reserve.

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