A beautiful sight

[John K Jordan]

The blurred cellphone photo at dusk is not beautiful. What I saw is beautiful.

There are bat-capades around my barn again. Swirling, diving, cavorting. Difficult to count, but there must have been 10-15 in this one area. Yay!

bats_IMG_20160829_202509_34.jpg

JKJ

[Lee Schierer]

For many years we had bats that would do figure 8's under our street light every night catching bugs. Unfortunately, we haven't seen any bats there in 3-4 years.

Many years ago when I painted our house with an airless sprayer, I inadvertently painted one side of a bat white with the latex primer. It was sort of funny to see a half brown half white bat flapping around at dusk.

[Mel Fulks]

We used to see a big bunch of them in the evening , then none for a long time. Lately we see one. We had a thread on the neighborhood forum about petty perceived yard neatness violations which was concurrent with one about why the bats were gone. I posted: "the city wrote them up for "not keeping their noses clean", then the vigilantes burned down their caves' ".

[Jerry Thompson]

There is a great book "Bats" that has a plethora on info on these wonderful animals.

[Brett Luna]

I don't have any photos of them but I see a few bats around our place this time of year. They're probably the Little Brown Bat (Myotis lucifugus) since they're the most common around these parts by far. I don't see them in large groups...just singles and pairs, which can also be quite playful.

[Rich Riddle]

Why do folks like bats?

[Tim Boger]

I'm thinking it's because they eat bugs.

Why do folks like bats?

[John K Jordan]

Why do folks like bats?

You are kidding, right? In case not, use google to look up "why are bats important".

From the first thing that popped up, "Some plants depend partly or wholly on bats to pollinate their flowers or spread their seeds, while other bats also help control pests by eating insects. In the UK, some bats are 'indicator species', because changes to these bat populations can indicate changes in aspects of biodiversity."

From the second link google gave me, "The Earth without bats would be a very different and much poorer place. More than 1,300 species of bats around the world are playing ecological roles that are vital to the health of natural ecosystems and human economies..."

There are more and more things to read but you get the point.

Bats eat a huge number of mosquitoes. If we had more bats, mosquito-related human health issues like the Zika virus might be less threatening. Every time I see one swoop it may be eating a mosquito that was about to infect me with the West Nile virus.

Those who have an unreasonable fear of bats might be better off inside. One important thing - don't touch or try to catch or pick up a bat and warn children. A sick bat might let you touch it and it might be sick with rabies. (Same goes for strange dogs, raccoons and other wild animals.)

JKJ

[Pat Barry]

They are creepy little beasts, that's a fact.

[John K Jordan]

They are creepy little beasts, that's a fact.

Ha! You probably wouldn't have enjoyed the time I was exploring a mine in Mexico when suddenly many thousands of bats flew down the passageway directly towards me. The passageway was only about a foot wider than me. The cloud of bats split right in front of me and not one touched me. I could hear and feel the wind from their wings on my face. It was amazing!

Dictionary, "creepy": causing an unpleasant feeling of fear or unease. It is a fact that some people feel fear or unease around bats. I love them, and so do most of my friends and people I know. I'll bet I could sell all the bat houses I could make.

Just think of them as a cross between tiny big-eared kitties and little birds.

JKJ

[Chris Padilla]

Bats love bugs therefore I love bats. Eat all the mosquitoes you can find, Bats!

[Kev Williams]

Ever had one in the living room with ya?

The wife and I were watching TV in the totally enclosed and shut cabin of our pontoon boat one night, the whole cabin is like 8' x 10... and out of nowhere a bat shows up and starts flying around.

I got nothing against bats, but they belong OUT side, thank you... That was freaky...

[Mel Fulks]

Look at Perky's bat tower in Florida. I think it might have been the inspiration for the Transamerica building. Can't find any mention of that, though. Bats declined to live in it but it's a popular tourist attraction. I wonder how the "Roach Motels" are doing!

[Rich Riddle]

I have memories of bats diving at our swimming pool when a child.....you'd see them inbound and under the water you'd go. I am sure they serve a purpose, but with that philosophy so do insects. My wife was rather excited when she saw bats at our home a few weeks ago. They too had disappeared for a long time. They remind me of Dracula.

[John K Jordan]

...I am sure they serve a purpose, but with that philosophy so do insects...

Without insects life on this planet would not be the same.

Without termites to handle fallen trees, leaves and branches all the forests would be choked to death. There would be no woodworking forums.
1/4-1/3 of our food supply would be gone without honeybees.
Certain insects (e.g., ladybugs) eat a huge number of insects harmful to plants.
The flies in my horse pasture are effectively controlled by tiny wasps that I buy 10,000 at a time and spread around every month.
Without insects many animal species would become extinct. Some animals eat animals that eat insects. That probably includes us.

The uninformed often indiscriminately fear and hate all insects in near them with no regard for the bigger picture of the ecosystem. Here is a simplified thing that almost anyone can understand: https://www.nwf.org/Kids/Ranger-Rick...-Are-Bugs.aspx Google as much more.

JKJ