Little Bethan Shaw looks less than bowled over by this close encounter with a bat during a Nature’s Big Day event at Coed-y-Brenin Forest Park.
Bethan, aged two, and her mother Esther came face to face with a noctule bat – Britain’s largest with a wingspan up to 400mm – during a day of fun and adventure to celebrate the wildlife of Snowdonia as part of Wales Biodiversity Week.
As well as the noctule, Chris Hall of the Snowdonia Mammal Society also brought along Britain’s smallest bat – a pipistrelle – for the day at the Forestry Commission Wales venue near Dolgellau.
Visitors learned how woodlands provide essential wildlife habitats for a wide variety of animals such as otters, bats, freshwater pearl mussels, hairy wood ants and dormice.
They had the chance to hunt for wildlife clues by following mammal tracks and other signs of life, such as otter spraint (pooh!) and woodmice larders with Rob Strachan of the Snowdonia Mammal Society.
Among the other events during the day were bird nest and bat box building, making bird feeders out of fircones and dragonfly models with the RSPB.
John Taylor of Forestry Commission Wales also gave a guided tour into the woods to show visitors how to identify trees and learn what the wood can be used for.
The other groups involved in the Nature’s Big Day event were the Snowdonia National Park Authority and the RSPB.
For more information on Nature’s Big Day, contact Forestry Commission Wales Visitor Centre Ranger Hilary Malyon on 01341 440747.
