Review of Summit Metro Parks Bat Program

On July 8, the Summit County Metro Parks hosted a program called Bats: Creatures of the Night at Furnace Run Metro Park.

A lucky seven year old in the Frontline Animal Removal family who has a strong interest in bats was able to attend.

This blog is a review of the program as related to the Frontline Guys by Luke and his mom and begins with this thank you letter.

Program Highlights Bats’ Ecological Importance

Luke and his mom had nothing but praise for the program and came home full of information and appreciation for bats.

The evening started out with a Bat I. Q. test on which our duo did pretty well.  Naturalist Dave gave this test to introduce his presentation on bats.

As the program description states, bats are often misunderstood.  Dave’s presentation sought to help those attending understand bats better and see how important they are to us.

The presentation was about the life of bats; from what they eat to where they roost and how they raise their young (called pups).  The presentation also was about one of the biggest challenges facing bats right now; white nose syndrome.

Take away points for Luke were:

• Bats eat tons and tons of mosquitoes and other insects which is really helpful for us
• Bats are really struggling with white nose syndrome, so we should really try to help them

After the informative presentation, there was a musical performance by local singer/songwriter Sam Sapp.

Mr. Sapp performed his original tune Batty! on the dulcimer and eventually had everyone join in on this entertaining and informative song about bats.

Luke brought home a handout with the song lyrics.  Each of the four verses surely is informative.

For more information about singer/songwriter Sam Sapp and his song Batty! check out the website: www.sammytunes.com

Up Close with the Bats

After the song, it was time to go outside and get up close and personal with the bats.  This was what Luke was waiting for: the mist netting and observation of bats.

This part of the program was led by Summit Metro Parks Biologist Marlo.

Marlo and her team had already set up two mist nests to capture the bats.  The nets are mesh netting material on poles which extend up about ten or twelve feet.  They are as wide as the trail they are set on.

The bats fly down the corridors created by the path and tree canopy, eating insects.  As they fly along hunting, their echolocation does not pick up the net until its too late and they get tangled.  The volunteers and biologists then untangle the bats and secure them gently prior to observing them.

As the group waited for bats, Marlo showed them a cool device to help identify bats in flight.  This device plugs into an I Pad and captures the bats’ echolocation.  The device then shows what frequency the echolocation is.  Each species of bat has its own frequency, so when a big brown bat (a particular species) flew overhead the device showed it and identified the proper species.

The device showed the presence of red bats, hoary bats, and big brown bats.

While they were doing this, those minding the nets noticed the first bats captured.  In the short time the nets were up, five big brown bats were captured.

Marlo took one of the big brown bats and let everyone see it up close. This was so cool. Luke states the fur was really soft and the wings sort of felt like a balloon.  Also, the bats made a lot of noise like chattering while they were being held.

Marlo also did measuring, observing, and banding of the bats.  Biologists in the Metro Parks do this regularly to keep an accounting of the parks’ biodiversity and watch trends in bats. (Sadly, Marlo believes she’s witnessed about an 80% decrease in bats over the last few years.)

The bats were weighed, their ear lengths were measured, and the sex of each was determined.

Their wings were also observed and given damage ratings.  Also, a black light was used on the wings to look for the tell-tale fungal spores consistent with White Nose Syndrome (WNS). The two bats the group observed both had wings showing the effects of WNS.

Lastly, before release, the bats were banded.  This was done by putting a small clip of sorts over the upper part of the wing.  Males get banded on the right wing.  Females get banded on the left wing.  This is standard banding practice among biologists banding bats. Now, if other biologists ever observe these particular big brown bats again, they will not need to be handled to determine their sex.

What a lot of experiences packed into a two hour program!

Respecting Bats in Northeast Ohio

Many agencies are hard at work here in Northeast Ohio keeping an eye on bat populations, protecting habitat, and working on understanding WNS better.

We at Frontline Animal Removal applaud all of these efforts.

We encourage everyone reading this to seek out one of the fine programs offered about bats in our area to learn more.  As is often said, knowledge is power.

We are a service provider are often called upon to remove bats from people’s dwellings.  As such, we realize it is often falls on us to help in this education and conservation effort as well.

It is our responsibility to help people remove bats from their homes in a way that meets the homeowners’ needs AND to do what is best for our troubled bat populations.

All we ask is that if you have a bat problem and are contemplating removal, please gather information first.  Bats are protected in Ohio.  Whether you do it yourself or choose a bat removal company, please follow ethical practices in removing these fascinating and challenged flying mammals.