In January a Greater Horseshoe bat was identified in a disused mine (pictured) in the Conwy Valley - the fourth recorded in North Wales.

The good news is that the Conwy Valley female (nicknamed Cinders after Cinderford in Gloucestershire, where she was first ringed) is living in a mine near Dean (born and ringed at Dean Hall in the forest of Dean).

He's been hanging around since 2001 but his lonely life could be at an end. Will we hear the flutter of tiny wings this summer? Unfortunately, Cinders is too young at present.

Greater Horseshoes are about the size of a pear and favour a Mediterranean climate. The UK population was confined to the South West until recently.

Cinders was found by Jean Matthews of Gwynedd Bat Group. In March another Greater Horseshoe, an unringed male, was found by Pauline Barber within 35 miles of the Conwy bats.

North Wales is a bat bastion. About half of Britain's 14,000 Lesser Horseshoe Bats live here. Roughly the size of a plum, they live in abandoned mines, derelict stone buildings and ancient trees.

Horseshoe Bats - named after their horseshoe-shaped noses - differ from other bats in that they "hang free" when roosting, with their wings wrapped around them.

Long distance movements are unusual but probably vital to ensure gene interchange. The latest finds give rise to the exciting possibility of a new colony starting in North Wales.

It's estimated that Greater Horseshoe bats have declined by over 90% in the last 100 years.

The UK has 16 different bat species and Conwy is the furthest north the Greater Horseshoe has been seen.
Report by Huw Jenkins.