We have bats in our backyard. My daughter Amanda hates it when we are out in the evening and we start to hear the squeaking of the bats. Sometimes if we are out and the yard is dark, they will come very close to our heads as they swoop to eat the insects. Many times they are flying over the pool if we are taking a night swim and that is a little creepy.
On the local walking trail there is an old train tunnel and apparently there was a bat colony that wanted to roost there. (Note this photo is from last year during the warmer months...hence the short pants.)
A group of people got together and made a bat house for them and as far as I know, there has never been any bats in the structure. Amanda has to walk fast through the tunnel because she knows there is a chance of there being bats in there. I have yet to see the bats.
Last summer one of our cats actually caught a bat and tried to bring it into the house. It sounded like a mouse squeaking but when I got up close to shoo her away from the door, I realized it was a bat. She eventually let go of the bat and it flew away. I was amazed that she was able to catch a bat. I talked to our vet about it and she said that since the cats are vaccinated and the bat didn't bite the cat that we should be fine. I was pretty concerned but she has never captured another bat as far as I know. We bring our cats in for the night because we do have so many critters that could cause trouble...skunks, raccoons, bats, foxes, and who knows what else is out there at night.
We studied bats a few years ago when we were interested in learning about different kinds of flying creatures.
"Although the bat's wings are very different from those of the bird, yet it is a rapid and agile flier. It flies in the dusk and catches great numbers of mosquitoes and other troublesome insects, upon which it feeds."If you ever get a chance to watch a bat fly, you will be amazed at their flying ability.
Handbook of Nature Study, page 243
I think it is neat that you have bats in the backyard. I've only seen bats a few times. My sister-in-law has some at her house, but I've only seen them once.
ReplyDeleteNice tunnel! What a great place you live in!
ReplyDeleteWe have bats too in our backyard. This year we really want to encourage them with bat houses because they hunt the swarms of mosquitoes that also abound in this wetland area (we're a lucky neighborhood, though, as we're on a hill).