IT has been a bumper year for bats in Worcestershire.

According to the Canal and River Trust, a warm summer has provided ideal evening conditions for bats to feed on insects, and the good weather between June and September has also provided good conditions for the mammals to raise their young.

Paul Wilkinson, ecologist at the trust, said: “This year has been a great year for bats. Our sightings and checks of bat boxes have shown that there are far more than usual.

“At this time of year, bats are busy feeding up for the winter and mating, with males being particularly noisy as they defend areas and try to attract several females."

People can get a better look at the creatures when a free bat walk takes place on Friday from 7pm to 9pm and leaves from the Lock Inn in Wolverley.

“The bat walk along the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal is family friendly. People will see the different species of bats to be found along the region’s waterways and they will use special bat detectors which allow us to tune in and be able to hear the high pitched sonar that bats use to navigate and find their insect dinner in the evening sky," Mr Wilkinson added.

“Bats have always been mysterious, becoming active just as evening light disappears and we are drawing the curtains, they seem to appear from nowhere and then disappear without trace. I’ll be telling you lots of fascinating bat facts, not least how they seem to have discovered the secret to cheating the ageing process.”

To join the bat walk, email paul.wilkinson@canalrivertrust.org.uk.