Saturday, September 13, was a very batty night for Friends of the Riverbanks. We got a chance to get up-close and personal with live bats and all of us now have a much better appreciation of just how amazing these flying mammals are and just how vital and important their niche in nature is. Did you know that a single little brown bat (Myotis lucificus) can eat up to 1000 mosquitoes in a single hour, and is one of the world's longest-lived mammals for its size, with life spans of almost 40 years? Or that bats are more closely related to humans and other primates than they are to rodents? Now you do!
Our local amateur bat authority and neighbor, JoEllen Arnold, has done several presentations for FORB before and each year they are more informative and more amazing! For instance, when was the last time you've ever been face-to-face with a live bat? People knew they were in for something special, because the turnout was really large, over seventy people and about half were awestruck kids. A Brownie Girl Scout troop joined us and some children and parents from nearby Courtyard School were there as well.
Seeing a bat face-to-face can be a life-changing experience. There are 17 species that live in Northern California, each an important contributor to the health of our ecosystem.
JoEllen's teaching skills were very helpful with so many energetic kids on hand, but just being on the banks of the mirror-like river at dusk, turning into dark, was magical in itself. As always, some children scooped up wet sand and got their shoes a little wet in the water, while others listened to the echolocation device which detected bats flying near-by. Five species were heard foraging over the river while we talked: Hoary Bat, Mexican Free-tail, Silver Haired Bat, Red Bat, and Myotis volans, the Long-legged Bat.
All delighted in meeting three local species of bats: a Pallid Bat, a Big Brown Bat, and a Mexican Free-tail Bat. These three “Bat Ambassadors” are wild bats which each suffered an injury or birth defect which makes them unreleasable—they cannot fly and would die in the wild. JoEllen volunteers with NorCalBats, which provides rescue services and education about bats including the Bat Ambassadors which are permitted by the State of California to be used for educational programs. You can learn more about NorCalBats at www.norcalbats.org. For lots more fascinating information about bats worldwide, check out Bat Conservation International at www.batcon.org.
The Bat Ambassadors are now resting up after a busy week helping humans understand how important they are. The Mexican Free-tail is at the top, the Pallid Bat in the middle and the Big Brown Bat is at the bottom. They love to be warm and are snuggling in a denim pocket in their soft house.
We so appreciate our Sutter’s Landing Park Ranger, Robert, for coming by to meet our neighbors and to say hello to the bats. Thank you very much Ranger Robert.
The bat evening is one of our special annual events you'll want to attend each year. You will be a bat expert yourself after spending a bat filled evening with Friends of the Riverbanks.
Mark your calendar for October 11th to join us for our annual "Welcome Back the Salmon Day!" More activity info will be sent later.
:-) Robert & Lyvonne' of FORB
We so appreciate our Sutter’s Landing Park Ranger, Robert, for coming by to meet our neighbors and to say hello to the bats. Thank you very much Ranger Robert.
The bat evening is one of our special annual events you'll want to attend each year. You will be a bat expert yourself after spending a bat filled evening with Friends of the Riverbanks.
Mark your calendar for October 11th to join us for our annual "Welcome Back the Salmon Day!" More activity info will be sent later.
:-) Robert & Lyvonne' of FORB
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