Gone Batty: An Evening Stroll with My Son and Our Winged Neighbors

As summer fades and the nights draw in, dusk walks have become a special way for me and my 8-year-old son to reconnect with nature before bedtime. With the earlier sunsets, we can squeeze in a quick 25-minute walk through the woods, and lately, we've been on the lookout for bats—those mysterious creatures that come alive when most of the world winds down.

In South Wales, we’re lucky to have four species of bats fluttering around: the Common Pipistrelle, Soprano Pipistrelle, Natterer’s bat, and Daubenton’s bat. The most common one we’ve been spotting is the Pipistrelle. These tiny insect-eating bats weigh only about 5 grams, the same as a 20p coin, but they’re mighty when it comes to gobbling up insects—up to 3,000 in a single night! As dusk falls, you can see them darting around the treetops, feasting on gnats, making them our natural pest controllers.

What makes these walks so exciting is the sense of adventure it brings to my son. As we walk through the woods, torches flickering, we talk about the different species we might see. The Pipistrelle is the most common, but I tell him about the Soprano Pipistrelle and the Natterer’s bat, hoping one day we might spot them too. He loves the idea that these little creatures thrive in our unspoiled Welsh countryside, with its woodlands and caves providing perfect roosting spots.

While bats are often misunderstood, they play an essential role in the ecosystem, and it’s a joy to share these moments with my son, knowing we're not just bonding but also learning about the wildlife that shares our home. Our dusk walks have quickly become a tradition, and spotting a bat darting across the twilight sky always feels like a tiny, magical reward.

These brief evening adventures remind me how important it is to slow down, explore, and take in the simple wonders around us—especially as the world continues to change with each season. For my son, it’s a chance to experience something new, to ask questions, and to appreciate the natural world. For me, it’s a time to give him a memory he can carry with him, along with a little bit of knowledge about the wildlife that shares our world.

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