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| Articles: The joys of the common chiroptera.....batwatching!!! |
Posted by
bettie_x on Friday, May 21, 2004 - 12:10 AM PST
It's May, Cinco de Mayo as it were, as I'm writing this, and last night I saw my first bats of the season. For those of you that don't know, my husband and I are bat enthusiasts, and have the fortune of living next to one of the biggest bat attractions in the area that nobody knows about. There is nothing more fantastic than spending an hour or two after official sundown and watching the common little brown bats of the NW come bailing out of the woods for the fishing pond across the road at dusk. !
You may think that bat watching would be dull, or get boring, but I tell you it's not. It's a wonderful and active experience that even the squeamish can enjoy. You not only get to spend time with a friend or loved one, but you get to observe one of nature's most unique and fantastic creatures (unless you're Devin and have enjoyed this particular nature's wonder stuck in your house and cannot get this wonder OUT).
I'll start out with some "Bat Facts" to get several uninformed opinions out of tender heads. Shall we?
1) Bats will get stuck in your hair-
Bats want nothing to do with your hair. They think your hair is grody, and rather want the bugs that SURROUND
your head that are attracted to your body heat. The have the flight precision to make 360 degree turns mid flight
due to the nimble nature of their "hand wing" (hence the latin name chiroptera "chiro"-hand "ptera"-wing) I knew
a man who got the opportunity to visit the pyramids of egypt, and had a flock of bats pass by his face with
milimeters to spare and didn't so much as brush his face with a wingtip. I WISH!!! :)
2) Bats will chase you -
If you're walking in the woods and a bat is swooping at your head, they're not after your blood or soul, they're after
the insects you are kicking up and attracting with your body heat. I've had a bat swoop and catch a moth inches
from my face, and it was the highlight of my week!
3) Bats suck blood-
Vampire bats are native to Brazille and equatorial countries, but mainly in south america. NEVER in colder climates or
less humid climates like we have here in the united states. Plus, they don't suck. They crawl on the ground, make
a tiny painless incision with their teeth, and like a mosquito their saliva has an anticoagulant that causes the blood
to run freely, and this they lap up. There is no sucking involved.
4) Bats are rodents with wings-
This is the most misunderstood myth about bats. They are not rodents. They are so unique in their adaptations that
they actually exist as a singular species of their own. If they were to be listed as "next of kin" to any animal group,
it would be primates. Yes, PRIMATES. If they did NOT have the ability to echolocate, they would indeed be in the
same species as humans and great apes. Study a bat skeleton someday, their skeletal makeup is 90% identical to
that of a HUMAN (including same number of bones and teeth), save for elongated arm and fingerbones, and the which is still shockingly "human" looking.
They have NOTHING in common with rodents. They have the most in common with US.
5) Bats carry rabies-
There is no such thing as a "carrier" of rabies. An animal has it or it doesn't. NEVER approach or touch a downed
wild animal of ANY sorts, bat or not, because if you can approach it, then something is WRONG with it, usually
disease. If you desire to work with bats or other animals that leave hard to find scratches or bites, you can
actually undergo a series of rabies innoculations that will reduce or eliminate entirely infection by the disease.
6) Bats will chew up your home-
Bats don't chew wood and plaster. Rats do. If you have a bat colony in your house, wait until they leave for the
winter and then seal up access to their roost. They will find other homes, or you can be kind and put up bat houses
for when they come back. DO NOT disturb a bat colony, for most colonies in spring and summer are maternity
colonies, and should you seal up the area too early you will starve and the infant bats. There are several rescue
organizations that will safely remove/exclude bats from your home after the infants are flying and able to fend for
themselves at little or no cost. Bats, like humans again, only have one to two offspring a year, and wiping out a
single colony can devestate a population because of their slow reproductivity.
Now, what do you do on a "batwatch"? Prime spots include ponds, as they're very thirsty when they come out for the night. You'll see them on the pond surface swooping and skimming getting their fill of water, and then the hunt for BUGS begins. If you have a hand spotlight and are quick, you can "highlight" them in flight, which is WAY COOL, or you can let your eyes adjust to the dark and observe them in silence. My husband got a nightvision scope for xmas last year, and watching them in the green "night light" of the scope is also quite spectacular. My husband also has a "bat detector" which is a small box that picks up the echolocation of the bats and relays it in a series of clicks as they hone in on prey. If you listen long enough and study a little, you can actually tell the size and SPECIES of the bat depending on the type, length, speed, and SOUND of the clicks relayed. When they zone in and strike on an insect, it sounds like a slow and then final zz zzz zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzip!! They're amazing little creatures, and I honestly think that even the most squeamish (like my mom) will overcome this fear of them by just watching them for an hour or so. It's a good way to spend a peaceful evening or relax after a rotten day.
So here's my challenge to you. Go find a park, or a pond, or a woodland with water and tell me how you like it, knowing what you know now. I'm sure plenty of you already know about the wonders of the nightlife, so go experience it now without the music and the lights and booze, but just the silent swooping black forms in the dusk. How fucking poetic is THAT? Beats the living hell out of the goddamned graveyard.
If you'd like to learn more about bats, bat walks, bat functions, bat seminars, bat pictures, bat ANYTHING, here are some great websites:
www.batworld.org
www.nwbats.com
www.batconinternational.com
They have everything from rescue stories (read about "putter" on batworld.org, and make sure there's tissue handy) to the "wall of shame" for people who have committed cruelties towards bats just trying to find a home, to stories of condemned buildings conserved as wildlife sanctuaries due to rare bat species forming colonies within them.
A lot of these sites you can join as members and get amazing bat merchandise at member prices, and all dues go towards the conservation efforts of the organization. I believe it's on batworld or batcon international there is an EDWARD GOREY bat T-shirt even!
So go out and give it a wack. I may be a little nuts sometimes, but I know good times when I see them. If you happen to live near carlsbad canyon or that bridge in texas, try an out of the way area instead of the "tourist trap", someplace secret and your own, where you can enjoy them im peace. Mine is a trailer park/fish pond across the street :) So go, enjoy them while they're still here. The babies should be out soon enough, as well. July I should think they'll be ready for their first flights. Please let me know how your bat experience went
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| The joys of the common chiroptera.....batwatching!!! | Login/Create an account | 3 Comments |
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Re: The joys of the common chiroptera.....batwatching!!!
by Domkitten (saradevil@saradevil.com)
on Jun 06, 2004 - 09:55 AM
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I've been having a silly summer birdwatching, and after reading this I'm trying to get in a little more batwatching.
I think I saw a few bats the other night swooping around just as the sun was finally setting, they are so fascinating when they around.
Of course, after reading this a bat experience doesn't seem fulfilling unless they are picking nats out of the air right in front of your nose!
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