We humans get counted once a decade by the National Statistics Office - but bats are counted more frequently.
Out and about on a cold Sunday morning with members of the Gwynedd Bat Group, our job was to count the lesser horseshoe bats hibernating in disused mines in Southern Snowdonia.
These bats are pretty rare, with an estimated UK population of 14,000 - of which half live in Wales. Are they in decline, or are they bouncing back?
What makes things better or worse for the average bat? What has been the impact of 10 mild winters? Is it true that otters have been scoffing the sleeping bats?
But these questions were not for us - our job was merely to count them as accurately as possible.
Bats hibernate from November till April, but unlike many other mammals they wake up now and again to forage for food, particularly if there is a warm spell. For this reason the winter count is done twice, once in January and again in February.
Horseshoe bats get their name from their horseshoe-shaped faces. The "lesser" horseshoe is a small version, about the size of a plum.
Their distinctive hibernation characteristic is that they hang upside down in mines with their wings wrapped around them. This makes them relatively easy to find and count, as opposed to bats that crawl into crevices.
A typical mine will have been created in search of slate, copper, manganese or lead. If the mine is obvious and easily accessible it is probably sealed off with a metal grille - the last thing the bats want is a horde of visitors during their hibernation. If the mine is relatively obscure and protected by deep water or a narrow entrance, then its natural defences should be sufficient.
We arrive at the first mine. Wellies are the best footwear, apart from waders when the water is really deep. I hear wetsuits are sometimes needed. Hard hats for caving are distributed, with torches that clip on top. But the most important gadget is the "clicker", which is just like the device used on planes or trains to count the passengers.
Wading through water by torchlight, trying not to stumble over submerged boulders, and avoid banging your head on the roof, isn't so easy. The Bat Group don't mind you banging your head provided you don't squash any bats.
When people board planes they tend to sit evenly spaced throughout the length of the cabin in neat rows. But bats have a much more random approach.
A typical mine might be 50 to 100 yards long. As a beginner you strain your eyes over every inch of the surface, but once you've done it a couple of times you get to know that no decent self-respecting bat wants to hibernate too close to the entrance or above deep water. So save your concentration until you get in a little further.
The key thing is to have a methodical approach - shine your torch from right to top to left and back over again and again. Sounds easy enough, but it's surprising what tricks your eyes can play. Have I counted this bat already? Believe it or not, they all look the same!
You get to a new section where a few moments ago one of your colleagues clicked furiously at least 10 times - but you can see no more than two...
I'm not sure why, but some bats like to find a nice quiet spot all to themselves, whilst others tend to go for dormitory style hibernation in gangs of 10 or more.
At the end of the mine you do an about turn and return the way you came as quietly as possible. From the opposite direction things look somewhat different...did I count that one on the way in?
Back outside, the scores are compared. Sometimes there are just a few bats, but in some mines there are more than a hundred. It can be a bit embarrassing if you've counted significantly less than the leader, but probably not as embarrassing as counting significantly more!
Finally, please remember that bats are strictly protected by law and that the counting of hibernating bats is an activity done under licence only.
Rare bats found in Conwy mines.
Pipistrelle bats at Cobdens Hotel.
your comments
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Jean Kincaid, Conwy
I live just inside the town walls of Conwy. When I walk my dog around 8pm I see lots of bats flying around there.
Wed Nov 1 09:31:36 2006
Peter Grace, Llanberis
When going out to the garden shed, at 9.45pm, I thought I saw swifts/swallows or similar emerging from the roof at the rear of a nearby house. They were bats, in excess of 50 that I saw emerge, plus ones before I twigged that they were bats.
The house has been undergoing renovations over the past four or five months, with no-one living there. I am concerned that the owner might take inappropriate action, so I'm keen to notify the appropriate authorities as soon as possible.
Mon Jun 26 14:57:30 2006
Mike A Bowyer Tasmania Australia
As a young boy, some sixty five or more years ago, I used to visit a horizontal mine shaft on the north eastern side of the Mawddach Valley located on the mountainside just below Precipice Walk and slightly to the south west of Dol-y-clochydd Farm on the valley floor.
The shaft was rather difficult to access due to the scree and rubble, apparently from when it was excavated many years ago possibly in search of either copper or gold.
The floor of the shaft is full of water, which incidentally was the source of a drinking water spring for the farm below.
This shaft, in those days, was home to quite a few bats although what type of bat they were I do not know.
Nearby was a vertical rock wall or cliff covered in a type of ivy, and this was home to a most beautiful owl, as well as a number of jackdaws.
Also, when fly fishing on a summer's evening, I would on occasion, while casting, accidently catch a small bat with the artificial fly on my line.
Removing the hook was very difficult, however the bat never seemed to be harmed by the incident.
Wed Mar 1 05:36:03 2006
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