[SEMCO] Mystery and Ecology of Bats, Feb. 14th

[Michael W. Lach]

The Harwich Conservation Trust (HCT) is sponsoring a free presentation by naturalist and walk leader Irwin Schorr titled The Mystery & Ecology of Bats.  The talk will take place at the Harwich Community Center (#100 Oak Street, Harwich, MA 02645) on Saturday, February 14th at 2:00 pm.  This program promises to be an intriguing and entertaining program about one of the most maligned and unusual animals in the world.  For the full schedule of HCT's winter 2009 walks and talks, please visit www.HarwichConservationTrust.org. 



There will also be a brief presentation about the bat box project described below. 



 

Build it and They Will Roost?

Bat Boxes at the Bank St. Bogs Nature Preserve

Thanks to Eagle Scout candidate Zach Lucas and the scouts of Harwich Troop 76, bats will have several new places to roost at the 60-acre Bank Street Bogs Nature Preserve protected by the nonprofit Harwich Conservation Trust in Harwich Port.  Zach coordinated the bat box project to build and install 20 bat boxes at the Preserve.  The Preserve is known for its diversity of plant and animal species.  It is hoped that bats will gravitate naturally to the roosting boxes given the area's abundant foraging opportunities. 

 

Zach is a senior at the Cape Cod Regional Technical High school.  Zach demonstrated community leadership in coordinating and completing the bat box project.  As a boy scout, Eagle Scout is the highest rank and is achieved by less than one percent of all scouts.  Completing a large-scale volunteer project of more than 100 hours, like the bat box project, is one of the major requirements for achieving Eagle Scout.  



Over the past four months, Zach has designed the approximately two-foot square boxes, received donations of the materials and guided his fellow scouts and friends to help construct and mount the roosting boxes on 16-foot tall posts.  Due to Cape Cod's temperate climate, the group then painted the boxes dark brown to keep the internal temperature optimal for the nocturnal mammals. The group installed the boxes on the 24th of January in less than three hours.  This process required holes to be dug through the frozen ground to a depth of approximately four feet.  The posts were clustered in four different roosting areas.  The total project took more than 150 hours.

 

Bat biology and behavior is fascinating.  Bats are the only mammals capable of flight.  There are more than 900 species worldwide and bats comprise the second largest (next to rodents) group of mammals. About 40 to 45 species reside in the United States, although some of these are pollinating migrants from Mexico.  Nine species can be found in Massachusetts.  Two common species that can be found on Cape Cod are the little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus) and big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus).  These two are colonial bats.  This means that they roost in groups.  

 

According to local bat expert, Irwin Schorr, the little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus) might eat 600 to 1,000 mosquitoes an hour, but keep in mind that they don't hunt all night. They will eat up to 50-60% of their body weight each night.  On average, the little brown bat weighs 0.33 ounce, is 3.5 inches in length, and has a wingspan of about 9 inches.  Across the USA, bats eat millions of pounds of insects each night.  

 

In winter, some of the bats found locally will migrate to warmer climates. Some non-colonial bats might crawl under a piece of tree bark or hunker down in a tree cavity. The big and little brown bats migrate to the mountains of Vermont, New Hampshire, western Massachusetts, and New York to hibernate in caves and mines. Some big brown bats will use attics, tree hollows, and barns for hibernacula.  

 

In the summer months, the males will usually roost separate from the females.  The females will form colonies tending to their pups in nursery roosts.  These are usually larger and warmer.  In the northeast, bats generally only have one pup a year.  In winter, the males and females hibernate together.  Estimating bat populations is challenging to say the least, but Irwin Schorr recalls reading that about 35,000 bats may summer across the Cape.  The average life span for bats is about 15 years, but it can be shorter.  The local record is 34 years for a little brown bat in Mashpee. 

 

In recent decades, bats have been in sharp decline.  This may be due to pesticide use, lower insect populations, loss of habitat, and a newly discovered infection known as white nose syndrome, believed to possibly be a fungus.

 

 

Founded in 1988, the nonprofit Harwich Conservation Trust (HCT) preserves land to protect woods, water, wildlife, and our shared quality of life.  HCT preserves natural areas by receiving land donations, purchasing land, and holding permanent conservation restrictions. For more information about HCT's winter schedule of talks and walks, please visit HCT's website, www.HarwichConservationTrust.org, email hct at cape.com, or call
508-432-3997.

 




Michael W. Lach
Executive Director
Harwich Conservation Trust
Ph:  508-432-3997
Fax: 508-432-1311
Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 101
South Harwich, MA 02661
E-mail:  hct at cape.com
Website:  www.HarwichConservationTrust.org
HCT office location:  947 Route 28, South Harwich
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