2020
We have general material about bats on our Information Page,
and lots of photos about building our bat houses on the Activities Page [on both pages, scroll down a bit].
As we do an annual bat count, this seems a good time to give them their own page, nested under Projects.
July 23rd
From the last bat count: this little fellow held onto a window screen before flying off.
Photo Credit: Christian Engelstoft. He states: the picture is most likely a Little Brown Myotis not because I can identity it but because guano samples that have been genetically tested suggest that is the species occupying this site. The Little Brown and the Yuma Myotis are virtually impossible to identify in hand or picture. Both species could be present because they often use the same sites.
For more info, check out these sites:
Community Bat Programs of BC
The “Got Bats?” initiative promotes conservation of bats on private land, provides a resource to landowners dealing with bat issues, and engages citizen scientists to collect data on bat populations.
Half of the 16 species of bats in BC are of conservation concern, including species like the Townsend’s big-eared bat, Fringed bat, Northern Myotis and Little Brown Myotis. There are many threats facing bats including habitat loss and fragmentation, intentional and unintentional colony disruption, mortality due to wind turbines, and the potential arrival of White-nose Syndrome (WNS). WNS is a devastating fungus that has nearly wiped out several formerly common bat species in eastern North America in just a few years. Although WNS has not yet reached BC, it is predicted to arrive within the next ten years.
The goal of the “Got Bats?” network is to establish community bat projects around BC. Currently, the following regions are participating: Greater Victoria, South Coast, Sunshine Coast, Okanagan, Kootenays, Lillooet, Peace, Skeena and Saltspring Island. This network works with existing organizations including Habitat Acquisition Trust, Salt Spring Island Conservancy, and Sunshine Coast Wildlife Project. These regional projects have been modelled after the successful Kootenay Community Bat Project and South Coast Bat Action Team.
The success of identifying roost sites for species at risk and the enthusiasm of residents to report their bats and conserve their roost sites or consider sensitive methods for removing bats from their homes continues to drive the success of these projects. Please contact your local bat project if you have bats in your buildings, would like to volunteer your time to build or monitor bat-houses, or are interested in booking an educational program.
https://www.bcbats.ca/index.php/bat-basics/bc-bat-species
Bat Conservation International
We’re fiercely passionate, expert conservationists and scientists who are leading the charge to ensure the worldwide survival of bats.
Bats lead us to the best opportunities to protect nature anywhere in the world. Bats are vital to our world’s ecosystems and economy, but hundreds of species face threats to their existence.
Founded in 1982, Bat Conservation International has grown into a globally recognized conservation organization dedicated to ending bat extinctions. Working together, our goal is to redefine what is possible in global conservation, through the utilization of cutting-edge tools, technology, and training to create a real, measurable impact.
https://www.batcon.org/about-us/
HABITAT ACQUISITION TRUST
Victoria’s Local Land Trust
The Annual Bat Count
HAT’s Community Bat Program is trying to learn more about bats in our region to guide conservation efforts, to enhance habitat through the placement of bat houses, and to help homeowners who choose to evict bat colonies to do so in a way that harms the bats as little as possible.
With other Community Bat Programs across BC, HAT is helping to coordinate the Annual Bat Count, a citizen science program to annually monitor bat populations in roost sites. Abandoned houses, barns, church steeples – and even currently-occupied structures – can provide a summer home to female bats and their young. Monitoring these “maternity colonies” can give biologists a good idea of how bat populations in an area are doing from year to year. With the occurrence of White-nose Syndrome in North America, monitoring these colonies is more important than ever.
Ideally, the Bat Count includes four counts during the summer – two between June 1 and 21 (before pups can fly) and two more between July 21 and August 15 (when pups are flying and exiting the roost with their mothers). Doing all four bat counts allows us to best compare data from year to year and between sites. However, if you don’t have time you can choose your level of participation.
If you are interested in volunteering your time, contact us at 250 995-2428 or email volunteers@hat.bc.ca
http://hat.bc.ca/bats/about-our-program
White-nose syndrome
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
White-nose syndrome (WNS) is an emerging disease in North American bats which has resulted in the dramatic decrease of the bat population in the United States and Canada, reportedly killing millions as of 2018.[1] The condition is named for a distinctive fungal growth around the muzzles and on the wings of hibernating bats.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White-nose_syndrome