This Halloween, Scream Time, a spooktacular fright fest lands at Margam Country Park ready to give visitors goosebumps and the event organisers have worked closely with the ecologist to make sure that they do not disturb the hundreds of resident bats.
Margam Country Park in Port Talbot Wales provides a home to one of the largest variety of species of bats in the UK alongside other wildlife including barn owls. The country estate has recorded species of the three different types of Pipistrelles, Brown Long-Eared bats and Lesser Horseshoe bats, which are named because of the horseshoe shape on their noses which aids their echolocation.
There are around 18 species of bats recorded in the UK and 14 of these have been recorded at Margam Country Park. The diverse habitat on the estate includes parkland, forest, open water and of course the castle and ruins providing plenty of places for the bats to roost.
Scream Time is a Halloween event managed by event organisers J9 events who also deliver the popular Great British Food Festivals and Luminate light trail events. The team work closely with the staff at Margam Country Park to ensure that what they are doing keeps the bats happy.
Ecologist, Megan Price, says: “Bats are sensitive to light, so we need to make sure that there are no new lights placed in the areas where they roost and fly. Also, things like wire and netting, which are often used in events like these to suspend things – they can be hazardous for bats. We’ve worked with the team at Scream Time, and they know how best to work around the bats to ensure these species continue to be protected.”
Bats use echolocation to hunt prey in the dark. They make a noise and listen to the echo. In order to identify the bats, ecologists like Megan use a bat detector. This allows them to transform the high frequency sound into something that they can hear and from this they can work out which species it is from the pattern and frequency of the call.
Different species of bats live in different habitats. The Noctule bat is one of the largest species with a wingspan of around 18inches and lives in old woodpecker holes. If you spot a bat darting across the pond with insects in its feet that will more than likely be a Daubentons.
Janine Maycock, event organiser for Scream Time says: “One of the reasons we work with Margam Country Park is because it is such a special location. It works for many of our events and the fact that they have so many bats and protect them, means that our Halloween events are even more authentic.”
Scream Time is a new Halloween trail, building on the success of last year’s event, at Margam Country Park. Its return will include even more scare points and hair-raising moments.
Visitors will need to keep their eyes wide open if they don’t want to join the Sandman’s victims, the Sleepwalkers. The terrifying trail will lead visitors into the 19th century haunted castle where creepy nightmare characters lurk in every corner. Beware of the bats!
