It’s a year since we launched our Crowdfunder to carry out independent surveys to ensure rare #bats & their habitats are protected from the NDR Western Link... and what a year of discoveries it’s been! [see THREAD] Can you support our ongoing research? 🙏 bit.ly/BatsNWL
Discovery 1: Wensum Valley is home to a ‘super-colony’ (only one known) of the very rare & threatened barbastelle bat – it would be severely impacted by the proposed road. 
Discovery 2: UK’s largest known extant barbastelle roost found within the super-colony!
Discovery 3: Mature woodland to be cut through by the road is home to a barbastelle maternity colony.
Discovery 4: River Wensum SAC is a key foraging area and commuting route for these bats – this would be severely impacted by the proposed road viaduct.
Discovery 5: Road would cut through ‘core of the cores’: the critical area where Core Sustenance Zones of each barbastelle maternity colony within the super-colony overlap.
Discovery 6: >60 barbastelle roost trees discovered to date within the road’s impact zone.
Discovery 7: Radio-tagged barbastelles avoided the ‘bat crossing’ mitigation structures on the NDR – instead crossing at unsafe locations, at risk of collisions with cars.
Discovery 8: Ecological Impact Assessment for barbastelles: impacts of the road on the barbastelle super-colony cannot be adequately mitigated/compensated for – Favourable Conservation Status unachievable.
And lots more…! Huge thanks to our existing supporters, funders and volunteers. If you’d like to help, please consider donating to our Crowdfunder appeal 👇 and please share & re-tweet far & wide! We’ve still got lots of work to do! bit.ly/BatsNWL
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