but what kind? In past years, little brown bats have roosted in this birdhouse scorned by the chickadees (its intended inhabitants). Much to the delight of my friend, who is hosting the bat, this year's resident seems to be a different kind, but we're not sure yet. We think it's a silver-haired bat, which has only been reported in Southeast Alaska, not the Interior. Gonna get the bat experts on it soon.
Meanwhile, isn't s/he adorable? And you can't see it, but there's a perfectly good, very nice bat house, made to spec especially for bats, on the same tree. This bat can't live by our rules and would rather scrinch around in a birdhouse. That's good... We can see him almost face to face when we sit on the deck.
Aside from spiders, I think bats may be the most misunderstood creatures on earth... and like spiders, they're one of my favorites. I know they give a lot of people the shivery creeps, but that's mostly because of old myths (that they'll fly into your hair, for instance. Not gonna happen. They use echolocation to navigate, and they're perfectly aware of where your hair is and have no desire to get in it.).
Unfortunately, we know very little about bats, and deforestation and other environmental problems are wiping out whole populations. We're just beginning to understand the important role bats play not only in controlling insect populations, but also in pollination. (This could be critical with the huges losses of honeybees in North America.)
In Alaska, we don't even know whether bats over-winter in the frigid temperatures (as low as -68F in my own experience) or if they migrate, which would mean flying hundreds of miles and crossing vast, rocky, barren mountain ranges. I'm excited to be able to report a bat sighting to help the biologists here get a better picture of what's going on.
Oh: And I almost forgot! My friend made me a bat house last year, exactly to spec, and I hung it on the Southwest wall of the house, on the second floor, where it gets a lot of sun for warmth. Last summer, no joy: no bats. But this year... I think I might have a bat. Haven't seen it, but I think I see guano on the metal shelf under the house. There's no way a bird could get in there, so it would have to be a bat. (Crossing my fingers.) We have an overabundance of mosquitos, flies and yellow jackets, so a bat could dine very well here.
If you're interested in learning more about bats -- and seeing lots of cool pictures -- visit Bat Conservation International.
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