Bats

dwinterfield · Post by **dwinterfield** » Wed Feb 09, 2005 11:27 am

In Austin Texas, there's a bridge in the middle of the city. Each night at dusk thousands (millions?) of bats emerge to feed. It has some amazing factoid like the largest swarm?, heard?, flock? of bats in the world. It's a popular local attraction

Cathy Wilde · Post by **Cathy Wilde** » Wed Feb 09, 2005 11:54 am

I've always wanted to see that. I also remember a New Yorker article years ago that mentioned an amazing Bat Cave somewhere in Missouri ....

dwinterfield · Post by **dwinterfield** » Wed Feb 09, 2005 12:20 pm

1.5 million bats have a fan club.

http://www.io.com/house/bats.html

Brigitte · Post by **Brigitte** » Wed Feb 09, 2005 12:32 pm

Love bats, too. Have a few around our place in summer and always wondered where they are living. After seeing here that there are bat houses/boxes I had a look and came along this page in German, though. But lots of ideas of how to give them a home.... http://www.schwegler-natur.de/Fledermaus/index.htm and also lots of ideas on birds houses. I have to do some shopping now

Brigitte

Brewster · Post by **Brewster** » Wed Feb 09, 2005 12:35 pm

The University of Florida in Gainesville has a bat house which holds something like 100,000 bats. At dusk, they all come out, taking about 15 minutes to empty out. There is usually a crowd of people present to watch it. I was there last November--very cool to see. Luckily, no guano incidents from the bats flying overhead!

Here's a link with pictures of the house:

http://floridabats.org/CBH_UofF.htm

susnfx · Post by **susnfx** » Wed Feb 09, 2005 1:29 pm

I've read that you must be patient with bat houses. It can take a long time for them (the bats) to warm up to your hospitality - years even.

Susan

emmline · Post by **emmline** » Wed Feb 09, 2005 1:59 pm

I've heard that too. I hung one on a tree in the front yard a few years ago, tragically, too low.
Bats didn't move in--instead it was a woodpecker who hatched her eggs in there.
One of my cats heard the noise and started bothering the box, eventually knocking it down. The babies did not survive. I was devastated. Have not put one up since.

Flyingcursor · Post by **Flyingcursor** » Wed Feb 09, 2005 2:01 pm

I once killed a bat. I've felt terrible about it every since. I won't go into details but my primordial fears overtook me. It was in our apartment when my oldest daughter was a little baby.

Poor bat.

GaryKelly · Post by **GaryKelly** » Wed Feb 09, 2005 2:27 pm

Nanohedron wrote:Nana-nana-nana-nana Nana-nana-nana-nana Batman!

G's Nano I just spat coffee all over my pda laughing at that!

Bats are cool. But they're running out of habitat fast. I think the UK recently enacted a law making it something of a serious offence to kill one deliberately, or to mess with them in any way, even if they take up residence in your attic or cellar.

Cathy Wilde · Post by **Cathy Wilde** » Wed Feb 09, 2005 2:39 pm

No, no, it's supposed to be "BATmaaaaaaaaaaaannn!"

Yes, bats can be shy little guys. I'm pretty sure my bat house was unoccupied for at least the first summer after I put it up (but I didn't look as I was trying to let them nest in peace). Anyway, the next summer, bingo! Bats!

I aim to put another one up this spring. They're great for fleas and things, too, I hear -- although they'll have to fight the chickens for those tasty morsels!

Love from the Backyard Biosphere,
cat.

dubhlinn · Post by **dubhlinn** » Wed Feb 09, 2005 5:21 pm

I once had the misfortune to collide with a bat on a cold dark night and ended up with four stitches in my head..Mind you it was a baseball bat :roll:

Slan,
D.

Cariad · Post by **Cariad** » Wed Feb 09, 2005 6:24 pm

[quote="GaryKellyBats are cool. But they're running out of habitat fast. I think the UK recently enacted a law making it something of a serious offence to kill one deliberately, or to mess with them in any way, even if they take up residence in your attic or cellar.[/quote]

True. It is illegal here to kill them or disturb them in any way. We have some roosting in the roofof our cottage and are very happy about it. They are very clean and make amazing little noises. In summer its nice to sit out front on the bench at dusk and watch them come out and fly around our wood and over the river valley - beautiful!

emmline · Post by **emmline** » Wed Feb 09, 2005 6:57 pm

Interesting. Here we are not allowed to harm turkey vultures, which have a habit of finding quiet neighborhoods to roost in en masse, where they stare relentlessly at small dogs out for stroll. Neighborhoods are, however, allowed to set off loud firecrackers for the purpose of convincing the birds that they'd have a more pleasant time elsewhere.

missy · Post by **missy** » Wed Feb 09, 2005 7:08 pm

Em wrote:
"Here we are not allowed to harm turkey vultures....."

And do NOT get me started on Canadian Geese!!!

Please, fellow Canadian chiffers - can we send them all BACK to you and you keep them??? Please??? We live on the "flight path" between a large urban forest and a cemetary, and constantly have to wash stuff off of cars and the garage door (what IS it about them ALWAYS hitting the garage door????)

I like bats. So far none have decided to take up residence in the bat house, but I continue to hope. We have a woods with a seep that backs up to our yard, and it's a mosquito breeding ground. Unfortunately, it's not OUR property, so I can't do anything about the seep and mosquitos. And I am a "mosquito magnet" - I'll have a bite within one minute of walking out the back door in the warm months. I'd love to have a couple of hundred bats to eat the little buggers up.

Missy

anniemcu · Post by **anniemcu** » Thu Feb 10, 2005 5:47 pm

izzarina wrote:eeewwwww......Gary, that was just wrong Not that I hate bats or anything (although I'm very opposed to them flying around my house, which they seem to like to do from time to time). It just that with this fever, I'm sure I'm going to have those fever induced dreams now, and they're going to be about bats with big teeth

The ones flying around your house are doing you a very big favor... they eat loads of mosquitos and other buggy things.!