Aug, 8
Is it really August already? Wow -what happened to July? As for me things have been going well -a bit too well actually. I have hardly had the time to blink lately. The field season is moving right along. Our bat captures for the year have exceeded 500 and we have been collecting lots of data tracking their movements (believe me, I’ve been typing it all in).
Lots of interesting things have come up like this Hoary bat. These guys are so great looking -and hard to catch, I always love to see them. Despite the innocent looks they are hard to keep track of. This guy, even though he was a juvenile, zipped along at least 4.2 miles of creek -in one night.
The job leaves little room for anything else but I did slip out to the park the other evening. It was a short little walk and I stopped only to click exactly two frames. This is one of them. Not too bad if I don’t say so myself.
Tags: bats
Catagories: Photography, Research.
Jun, 13
Last night was pretty slow at the nets and (sigh) we didn’t catch anything we were looking for.
We did come across this very pregnant Northern long-eared bat though. She was being very calm and cooperative (or perhaps she was just so fat she really couldn’t move…?) and I was able to get a bunch of decent pictures before she slipped back into the darkness.
There were also a pile of these Eastern Cricket frogs down there making a terrible racket. If you haven’t heard one from 2 feet or less it is quite an experience. I think I can still feel the pulsing in my ears…
I didn’t get any pictures that were real winners but I didn’t have all night…
Finally if you haven’t heard about the new and fast spreading illness that is taking a huge toll on many bat populations -well its probably past time I said something about it. It’s called “white-nose syndrome.” The best idea is to read up on all the latest info on the illness right here. But in short we still don’t know what exactly is killing the bats or how or if it is even possible to stop its deadly spread. I did attempt a couple of pictures that express the plight of our bats. Hopefully soon we will know more about this illness.
Tags: bats, Cricket-frog, frogs, mammals, white-nose syndrome
Catagories: Biology, Research.
Jun, 5
When many people see a tree like this on their property the first thought is “well, it’s dead now -probably ought to cut it down…”
Trees like this may not be the most beautiful but if you really take a good look they may be the most interesting. Study after study confirms that having a good supply of dead snags is essential for many wildlife species. Because many forests today lack an adequate number, many wildlife managers are now looking for ways to actually create them.
The tree above is part of my study on Indiana bats. We found it by locating a bat carrying a tiny radio telemetery transmitter that was roosting in the tree. It may not look that special but I spent the evening last night sitting at its base… At least 82 bats call it home -and did I mention that they are federally endangered. You may want to think about that before pulling out that chainsaw and ridding your property of every dead snag.
Tags: bats, habitat, Indiana bats, mammals, telemetry, tracking
Catagories: Biology, Research.
May, 6
Whew… 4hrs of sleep last night. Our fourth night back in the field and it was a fantastic night. We broke all of last year’s records ending up with 44 bats of 6 different species, including one Indiana bat, and one Silver hair… the first Silver hair we’ve seen ever.
Oh ya, there was one Southern flying squirrel in the net too but it was faster than the camera. Now I am going to bed… but the fun has just begun.
Tags: bats, Indiana bats, mammals
Catagories: Biology, Research.
