Welcome to the events page!
Winter Bat Talks
A range of bat talks will be organised over the winter months – December to April.
As each date is confirmed it will be added here. If you would like to join a talk, please email nicfaulks@hotmail.com so the joining details for Teams, can be emailed to you.
Talk 1: Wednesday 16th December 2020 Starting at 7pm – Completed, but if you would like to listen to a recording of the talk, click HERE!
Title: Winter hide and seek
Presented by: Tina Wiffen
Detail: Until recently very little was known about hibernation sites in Northumberland and the wider region. Our bats must go somewhere in winter and so we started looking for them. Over the last six years, looking in likely, and unlikely places, has led to the discovery of several previously unknown hibernacula. Most of our sites hold low numbers of bats, with the exception of two large Pipistrellus species sites. Upland lead mines have proved to be good winter sites, we now monitor these throughout the winter gathering acoustic and temperature data.
Talk 2: Tuesday 19th January 2021 Starting at 7pm – completed, but if you would like to listen to a recording of the talk, click HERE! (Sorry, recording starts 5 minutes in….)
Title: Nathusius’ Pipistrelle Migration and AudioMoths on the South Coast
Presented By: Adrian Bicker
Detail: Using acoustic methods to study bat migration is a novel and controversial approach. The prize is to paint a broad-brush picture of the flows of migrating bats around our coasts. From a single detector on Chesil Beach to 25 AudioMoths spanning The Channel, Adrian takes us on a his personal voyage of discovery, explaining how he approached the challenge and sharing his initial findings – plus a few surprises.
Talk 3: Wednesday 17th February 2021 Starting at 7pm
Title: Bat diversity from around the world. Nic has worked in a range of countries around the world and has always been fascinated by the diversity of bat species. In this talk she will explore some of the adaptations of bat species, including nose shapes, ears, echolocation and hibernation.
Presented By: Nicola Faulks
Talk 4: Monday15th March 2021 Starting at 7pm
Title: The diverse and fascinating world of bat ectoparasites! Bats have a diverse and fascinating set of ectoparasites, adapted to allow them to live on the hostile environment that is a bats body. David Dodds will explain how to identify the different groups of parasites and share some insights into their lives and how they interact with bats
Presented By: David Dodds
If you would like to join a talk, please email: nicfaulks@hotmail.com so that she can send you the joining/invite instructions – all talks will be hosted on Microsoft Teams, but you can log on as a guest through the on line browser.
Bat Walks August and September 2020
Since lockdown has been lifted a bit and we can now undertake organised group events in an outside environment, where social distancing is still possible, it’s time to do some bat walks. If you would like to join us, please email nicfaulks@hotmail.com stating the number in your party and the date you would like to attend. We will provide you with a bat detector so you can hear the bats as they fly overhead.
1. Thursday 6 August – Leazers Park. – Newcastle – completed
2. Thursday 13 August – Removed
3. Tuesday 18 August – Jesmond Dene – Newcastle – Completed
4. Thursday 20 August – Removed.
5. Thursday 27 August – Tyne Green – Hexham – Completed
6. Thursday 3 September – Carlisle Park – Morpeth – Completed
7. Tuesday 8 September – Random location, St Marys Island Wetland – Completed
8. Thursday 10 September – Tyne Riverside Country Park – Newburn – Completed
Walks will all be starting between 7.30pm and 9pm and will last 1 – 2 hours. Walking will be on paths, but may involve some steps or uneven ground. You will also need to bring a head torch and to wear sturdy footing. Events will be cancelled if high winds or rain is forecast, as this lessens the chance that bats would be flying.
Postponed - NBG AGM - 30th March 2020 - Great North Museum
Unfortunately due to the COVID-19 virus outbreak and consequent government recommendations, the AGM will be postponed until Spring 2021 and will be held via zoom call, so watch this space for a date to be confirmed.
NBMP Hibernation surveys
Due to the ongoing pandemic, advice from IUCN and BCT is that hibernation surveys which may increase close contact with bat should not be undertaken. Therefore for the 2020-2021 period, no surveys have been organised. Hopefully we will be up and running again for 2021-2022 surveys.