Come and join Nadya and Alex for an evening of bat and moth detecting!
We’re going to take advantage of those warm summer evenings to relax and enjoy the reserve in the evening. We’ll have bat detectors at the ready to see which species we can pick up as they emerge to hunt for nocturnal insects – there will be a chance to have a go yourself with the detectors whilst learning about Ealing’s bat species and what they get up to once the sun sets.
We will also be looking to see which moths we have on site (if we can get to them before the bats!). We’ll be using two techniques to attract moths to us – one is ‘lightsheeting’, where a light is projected onto a white sheet and the other is ‘sugaring’ where a sweet sticky liquid is painted onto trees as an attractive food source. There are around 2,500 moth species in the UK so the possibilities of what we might find are huge! We’ll be recording any sightings onto iNaturalist to that they form part of the reserve’s records and are available to other citizen scientists and the national recording schemes.
Make sure to wear long sleeves and trousers to protect against biting insects and bring a torch or head torch if you have one – and remember to keep an eye out for other nocturnal wildlife whilst you’re here!
The gated entrance with an EWG sign is on Ruislip Road East across from the Lidl Car Park, between 61 Clifton Road and 31 Costons Lane.
All under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.
