Brilliant Bats at Kiltonga Nature Reserve

Join us for a sunset bat walk led by our Wildlife Wander Volunteer, Mark, who’ll guide us through the fascinating world of bats! Kiltonga Nature Reserve is home a variety of bat species, providing a vital habitat for bats to forage through and roost in. With the help of bat detectors, we’ll be able to listen to their echolocation calls and, with a bit of luck, watch them dart and swoop above our heads in search of insects. Did you know that Northern Ireland is home to eight species of bats? These incredible nocturnal mammals play a vital role in our ecosystems, and this walk is a rare opportunity to experience their world up close. Exploring our local greenspaces at dusk opens up a whole new perspective - one that many of us don’t often get to see. We appreciate that the timing might be a little late for some, but the bats only come out just after sunset! You don’t need any prior nature knowledge to come along - just bring your curiosity, and enjoy the outdoors with us! Meeting point: We'll meet in the Kiltonga Nature Reserve car park that's on the Belfast Road (map screenshot here, Google maps link here) at 7:15pm and finish back there at around 9:15pm. Walking distance: We'll walk slowly for about 1 mile in total around the Nature Reserve, stopping often to enjoy the bats. What to bring: Please bring a torch (e.g. a headtorch or a phone torch). The group will stick to the main path but we recommend wearing sturdy footwear like trainers. And wrap up with warm and waterproof clothing - as we'll be walking slowly and stopping often, and with the unpredictable Northern Irish weather, it might get colder than expected! We'll provide bat detectors for folks to borrow. Accessibility: This events is suitable for wheelchair users. If you have any questions about accessibility, or any other queries, please email Jemma at [email protected]. Volunteer-led events: As these are volunteer-led events, there are a couple of things to draw your attention to: we have a no dogs policy (except for assistance dogs) just so everyone is comfortable and under 18s must be accompanied by an adult. There is more information about these points and others in this document. These events are coordinated by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) Northern Ireland. We are a charity that seeks to understand and protect our wild bird populations and connect people with nature. Find out more about what we do at www.bto.org/about/where/northern-ireland.