Bat House Forum

[cloudman75]

Temperature warmed to mid 60s today so I checked my bat houses. I had two small brown colored bats in one house and a small really dark colored bat in another. Not much to show as things are slow right now with bats. You can see the two brown bats on the left side in different chambers
Both these houses are dark blue.



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Frank

[Terry Lobdell]

Zero bats roosting here Frank.......although I did get a call today from a lady who had a bat in her bathtub drinking like it was really thirsty.......most likely it was a big brown roused from hibernation........She seemed like she really wanted to do the right thing and not harm it which was really refreshing!

[cloudman75]

Hello Terry,
We need more like that lady to not harm the bats. We have had a warm spell for two days now. There were about 1/2 dozen bats in the bat house tonight.
They look like little browns but are smaller. I did not see any big browns or little browns, just these very small bats. They sure despise me shining a light up at them and express their displeasure by moving around a lot. My large bat house leaning against a tree but on a pole had a flying squirrel in it tonight.
It was able to go up the wide spaced baffle which would measure about 1 1/2 inches. It also has a horizontal board at the top for little bats to play on,
so the F. squirrel can lie flat on that. Take care, and don't be sliding on the ice this winter.
I was able to see the wet lands below my house about a half mile from me on the creek. When they built a four lane road, they created a very shallow lake of probably 50 acres which is an insect heaven from the way it looks. Actually looks like a swamp. Since the leaves are gone I could get a good look at it. I believe it is resposible for the bats which stay here during the season . I don't mind at all except for all the mosquitoes that make their way to my place now.

Frank

[Terry Lobdell]

Frank, that is neat about the flying squirrel! I have had a mother flying squirrel nest in one of my bluebird boxes years ago.......also had a pair living in my attic years ago.....they are really amazing animals!

Today I went down to Cook's State Forest.......supposedly the largest tract of old growth timber in the Eastern U. S.........They have I'm guessing a couple thousand little brown bats at different locations and need some help with putting up more bat boxes.........I am really excited for the potential in this area! They actually had to close their ranger's office last summer because there were so many bats roosting in the attic. The smell of urine was too overwhelming for the staff.........I gave them literature from BCI on how to safely exclude which they did this fall.........Today I gave them 2 decent sized boxes (capacity for about 200 adults) and will build more for them next spring

[cloudman75]

Terry,
I checked last night and the flying squirrel was not in the bat box. I could see some bark strips where it had attempted to build a nest but it was too confined for that. I had two little bats in one box and the night time temps have been at freezing or below for two nights. These little bats can tolerate some cold but usually leave around temps in the mid 20s at night. Our daytime highs now are in the mid 60s, so not too bad.
That's great news about your new bat location. I have some bat maintenance items to take care of this winter. For one thing we had some bad winds through here and my hollow pole was blown off plum position. I have it bolted to a steel channel which still appears plumb. The bolts that hold the hollow pole are somewhat loose and let the hollow pole tilt. It does not bother the bats but looks bad. I will probably get busy after Christmas is over a few weeks.

Frank.

[marius]

Wow, Frank, you are lucky to have bats in December. I was telling a friend I miss our bats and she sent this link. Great close-up video of a baby bat. Also, the eleven minute video about batworld shows wonderful close-ups. Kind of filled the hole of missing bats -if that makes any sense. : )

http://www.batworld.org/lil-drac/

[marius]

Also ... didn't mean to hi-jack your thread about December bats but wasn't sure where else to post. And, these are bats that I'm seeing in December. : )

[cloudman75]

Marius,
I enjoyed the video. Perhaps it should go under photos and pictures to get the attention it deserves. It was one cute little bat. Joe can move it if he sees fit
that more may see it with a title like bat video. I sure don't mind it at all where it is now. I checked last night and though we have had several frosts and temps below freezing, I still have two bats hanging in there. Lol.
These are the little bats that usually stay around during the winter. They do leave in very cold temps, but will come back when it warms up to around 25 or 30 F. I don't know where they go when they disappear.

Frank

[marius]

Hi Frank, glad you didn't mind the video of the bat. Think I will post it in it's own thread. Apparently it has gone viral and now can't be accessed through Batworld website. However, there is another place where it can be seen - on a place that is top videos of the day.

Fun to read about the bats you still have. Wouldn't it be fun to know where they go to hibernate!

[cloudman75]

We had 60 degree temps today so I checked the bat houses tonight. Only one house had two bats. The strange thing is one has large ears like a freetail but is rather on the small side and gray in color. Tomorrow is forecast for 68 so maybe a few more will return while it is warm. Here is a photo of the little big eared bat as well as my little buddy that stays here most of the time and is brown colored.

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Frank

[Terry Lobdell]

Wow Frank! That is an unusual looking bat! Could it possibly be a Virginia Big Eared bat? Its ears look too big to be a freetail bat.

[cloudman75]

Terry, Yes it is probably a big eared bat. I saw one before and posted on here that I suspected that was the species. For its' size the ears are very large. Also it is smaller than a little brown. We had 68 degree weather here today after an overnight low in the mid 40s. Tonight I had about 15 bats in three different houses. Some freetails, around a half dozen little browns, and my little bat and the big eared one. I had three large bats that I suspect were Big Browns in a house alone from other bats. The presence of the additional bats re- enforces my theory that they wake up in hibernation and come back even in winter during the warm spells here. Also that their bat caves are only an hour or so flight time that the GA. DNR lists in my area. I am one lucky dude so far. Here it is almost mid December and I still have bats.
If I recall right, the big eared bats sometimes are found in my location. It is a cute little fellow.
Since my bat is gray not brown this is the big eared bat I think it is:
Distribution
Rafinesque's big-eared bat is also known as the southeastern big-eared bat, which aptly describes where it lives in the United States. The subspecies C. r. macrotis is found along the Gulf Coast, from Texas to Florida and north to Virginia. Its inland counterpart, C. r. rafinesquii, occupies the northern part of the species' range including eastern Arkansas and Missouri north to eastern Illinois, southern Indiana, all of Kentucky, and Tennessee, to western West Virginia.
The Virginia BE bats are brown
Range

Rafinesque's Big-eared Bat ranges over the southeastern United States, and may occur throughout Georgia.

Conservation Status

The Georgia Department of Natural Resources considers this species to be Rare in the state.

Similar Species

No other bat species in Georgia has such large ears

Frank

[cloudman75]

Uploaded with ImageShack.us Three Little Browns and lady bugs in the corner

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Three more bats in another house. Tonight is December 14, 2011 and I still have bats. Another 10 or 12 bats also in another house. Temp today was 68 F
low last night mid 40s.

Frank

[cloudman75]

We had rain today and overcast all day. Temp is rather warm so I checked the bat houses 3 houses had bats.Just four total in all three houses.
I had two freetails together. I guess they came in from where they go when nights get cold. Looked like a big brown in one house and my resident little bat in another.

Frank