Bat House Forum

[Mark Kiser]

Here's the latest from the Chiroptorium (artificial cave) at the Bamberger Ranch near Johnson City, Texas:

Starting about Aug 8, 2003, the Mexican free-tailed bat/cave myotis colony reappeared in the cave (absent since end of May). Population is now estimated at 100,000 to one quarter million. Population at end of May was 6 to 8 thousand only.

Pretty wild!

Mark

[Joe Spencer]

This is fantastic news Mark thank u for sharing it. I only wish I owned enough land to try something like this myself. Most of our myotis in my area have to migrate to hibernate. Sure would be nice to have some nearby hibernacula like this. Mark do you know what minimum size a man-made hibernacula could be Just incase I get really ambitious someday.

[Mark Kiser]

Hi Joe,

Little brown bats and big brown bats need stable temperatures in their winter roost sites. Little brown bats like temps. near the low 40s F and humidity near 100 %.

Big brown bats often roost near the entrance and thus can tolerate even cooler temps.

Don't know if there is a minium suitable size, but roost configuration will play a big role in how stable the air temps are, whether the chamber traps cold air or releases it. There's a diagram in the Bats and Mines Handbook that shows several cave/mine configurations, and it describes how the passageway layouts dictate how warm air and cool air move (enters, exits, collects) in summer vs. winter.

Hope this helps.

Mark

[Ray Ramirez]

Just a thought, Mark, but is there any chance of having a live web cam so internet visitorscan see what is going on? I realize that may not be possible now, I just did not know if that was factored into the original design- like the people who set up a hut to watch mother birds feed their hatchlings

Ray

[Joe Spencer]

Hey Ray, I may be mistaken but I thought the Chiroptorium has some sort of one way viewing windows within it. I have been pondering a webcam for years but they all are terrible in lowlight never mind no-light situations. It is my understanding however that the newer digital camcorders do better in low-light conditions and that they can be used as a webcam. Looking forward to a wireless batcam someday so that I might observe bats in my bat houses.

[Mark Kiser]

Hi Ray and Joe,

I don't believe the Chiroptorium has an active video camera, will have to check if it has wiring that would allow for a web cam in the future.

The Chiroptorium does have an observation room with windows that were supposed to allow for infra-red, undisturbed bat viewing. However, bats kept smacking into the windows, so they had to be covered over. For some reason, the bats could not or did not detect the glass.

Cheers,

Mark