The Comber Greenway is home to a variety of bat species, providing a vital habitat 'corridor' for bats to forage along. 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 be meeting at the 'Comber Greenway Start Point' on Belfast Road, Comber BT23 5EW at 8:30pm, and finishing back there at around 10pm. Here is a Google Maps link for the meeting point.
Walking distance: We'll walk slowly for about 1 mile in total (0.5 miles up the Greenway and back), 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 tarmacked 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 Sorrel at wanders@bto.org.
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.
