We loved visiting the Bat Hotspots at Arundel

I didn't realise just how tiny bats were!  I'm thinking I'm getting them mixed up with Fruit Bats that we see at Drusillas, which in comparison to the Soprano Pipistrelle bats at Arundel wetlands are massive.

Image Credit WWT

Arundel's bat watch event had popped up on my Facebook last month and I'd asked my son if he'd like to go to this, of course he would, it's animals!

I then forgot to book, and assumed I'd missed it, he was rather upset with me for that.

Fast forward three weeks and the event popped up again, this time due to cancellations there were spaces left!  I quickly booked us on, without truly thinking this through. 

It was on a school night..... it started at 6.30, not really the issue..... it finished at 9.30!

Yep, I took him in his pyjamas!

We started our tour in the light, with dusk just around the corner.  Our guide started by showing us a print out of the 16 different bats the wetlands have.

We moved on to one of the bat boxes where a Soprano Pipistrelle was currently resting and we got to see him up close.  Soo tiny!

As we made our way around the wetlands the sky started to get darker and the weather cooler, but it was such fun.  We stopped along the way at various known hotspots to catch a bat or two flying across to catch the insects. 

Armed with bat listening devices. we could hear them coming and calling out to each other, and with our guide's expert knowledge we learnt so much along the way.

My son is coming up for 7, and he loved it.  I did worry he would get bored, but he was fascinated.  He would ask Paul, our guide, questions along the way, but the most amazing bit was as it got darker we couldn't see the bats straight away, but he could.    

Those young bright eyes were spotting the bats at least three/four seconds before the rest of us!

By the time we made it back and to watch the bats darting across the lake, it was gone half eight and he was starting to waver.  He was still very existed and enjoyed spotting the bats when they flew across but he was also very tired and trying to snuggle into me at the same time.

Fortunately, our guides were very accommodating and allowed us to leave early, with one very happy, full of knowledge, out way past his bedtime little boy, how was greeted by a beautiful big full harvest moon to guide us home.