Hungry Bats

14Apr2016 UTC       click at left for video

Frio & Bracken bats cover at least 40 miles in an hour in this video (link above left).  Mexican free-tailed bats are capable of flying over twice that fast in unassisted flight.  The location of both caves at the edge of the Texas Hill Country (dark grey at top) gives the bats immediate access to the agricultural fields that attract their favorite food, the corn ear-worm moth.
Could be as many as ~8 million at Bracken and ~6 at Frio, and this is just a snapshot in time, not the whole emergence!
Stuart bat cave and then Rucker emerge later at top left of video.

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Posted on , updated on by The Refuge

WNS jumps the Rockies

From the US Fish & Wildlife Service

“It is with heavy hearts that we announce today the confirmation of white-nose syndrome in the state of Washington. This detection is about 1,300 miles from areas where white-nose syndrome has been confirmed in Minnesota and where the fungus has been found in Nebraska.”

https://www.whitenosesyndrome.org/what-can-you-do-help

WNS Washington state

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Udated “Cave Advisory”

Updated “Cave Advisory”: Recommendations for managing access to subterranean bat roosts to reduce the impacts of white-nose syndrome in bats

https://www.whitenosesyndrome.org/sites/default/files/resource/final-cave_access_advisory_2016_2.pdf

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Free Pest-Control Service for the Winter Garden

Frio 28Mar2016 UTC        Click to left for video

Last night, what looks like about 3-1/2 million bats emerged from Frio Bat Cave and headed south toward the Winter Garden area south of Uvalde, providing free pest-control service to farmers in a large area west toward Bracketville.  Hope they stayed clear of the turbines at the wind farm.  Anybody doing a count this morning?

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Sunrise service work – Happy Easter!

Easter Bat – 911

First thing this morning we got a call from the Austin Police Department. Our first reaction? We didn’t do it! Then they said “We have a bat in the main building downtown, can Dianne come and help us?” So, ready to protect and to serve, we saved the APD from this bat. She sure does seem ferocious!

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Releasing a Bat

I just had an amazing experience releasing a rehabilitated bat. They are so tiny! She was eager to join the party at Congress Bridge. Thanks Lee and Dianne. Your passion and love for bats is inspiring. Thank you for the great service you give to the Austin community and especially the bats!

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The Bats are Back!

Bats are Back 16Mar2016 UTC HD   (Click on link to see video)

The bats are back at Congress Ave Bridge in Austin!

2016-03-16_10-45-58

This video from last night shows 3 or 4 separate flights from the bridge before a north front sweeps in, taking most of the bats along for the ride.
The last few years the bats have made sure to be back for the South by Southwest Music Festival.

The viewing is great these days, they’re coming out well before dark.

Posted on , updated on by The Refuge