A Moment of EnLitenment » Indiana bats

It’s here

Andrew — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 12:28:02 +0000

Please welcome Fall, my favorite season.

The last several weeks have been very busy with the end of field season but we have had a great year.

One of the final Indiana Bats we captured was this one. She was already wearing a band and it wasn’t one of ours. Another researcher captured her some time ago and we were lucky enough to capture her again. This happens very rarely in bat research so we were very excited to see her. Right now we are still tracking down who originally captured her -hopefully we will find out soon. Many more interesting things have happened over the summer and I hope to pass some of them along to you in the coming weeks. Until then -happy Fall.

Treehouse

Andrew — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 17:05:51 +0000

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.

Long Night

Andrew — Thu, 07 May 2009 01:19:47 +0000

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.

Finally Official

Andrew — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 02:56:00 +0000

Finally… I just got the ok to release the big news. I’m hiring! I’m in need of a couple of technicians to help with my field work this summer. All the official details are in the PDF file located right here.

In case you missed it you may also want to check out the post below.

Sorry -I couldn’t stop playing with my rubber bat the other night. Lots of fun can happen with a couple of strobes, a blue gel, and a little Photoshop.

But it’s probably not a good thing to forget what the real thing looks like.

I look forward to hearing from YOU!

Opportunity

Andrew — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 23:56:21 +0000

Is life driving you batty? Want to do something different this summer? Do you have a little experience with wild things -or need a little more?

Do you think you can keep up with something small and fuzzy that flies and looks a lot like this Northern long-eared bat wearing a 0.37 g radio transmitter? Are you ok with staying up all night, sitting in the dark, and coming eye to eyeteeth with something that looks a lot like those of this Red bat?

Do you think you can learn the difference between a Green ash and a White and are you capable of counting to 200 (without using your fingers)? Is it possible for you to sit beside dead trees as evening turns to night -alone?

If you answered yes to all or any of these questions then stay tuned… I have a fantastic opportunity I have been working on for the past several weeks that may be just for you. It is now sitting on my desk but I have to wait for the official green light from the powers that be before posting publicly. I wanted you to be the first to know… Official announcement to follow in a week (or two).