Lisa 🦔Mar 1

I was swarmed by mosquitoes last night while releasing a bunch of my longer-term bat rehabs.

All I could think as the batties lifted off of my hand and into the sky was… “yes YES… FLY my pretties!” and cackling internally.

Anyway, I’m:

—thrilled these batties are out in the world and flying the evening skies again.

—worried about them finding their way in the world.

—pleased to have the space again to take in more new cases.

—sad to not see some of their faces every day.

—comforted by the goofy little batties that are still in residence.

—trying to ignore the mosquito bite in the middle of my forehead.

Last night’s release count:
6 Mexican Free-tailed bats
(Tadarida brasiliensis)

2 Southeastern Myotis (Myotis austroriparius)

🖤🦇🖤
#BatsInMyBelfry #BatsInBlankets

Show threadAri "Two Sheds" JacksonMar 1

@mycrowgirl

Aaaaah, everybody's ears would be ringing if they had heard my screech of delight with that video! Go little buddy, go!

I was already seeing mosquitoes in February, so I really need to think about getting my bat house back up (it got taken down when I had some tree work done).

Show threadLisa 🦔Mar 1

@arisummerland yay!!! Bat houses for all!!!

🖤🦇🖤
For anyone reading who does not already have one, this page has great tips on placement and what to look for to offer a safe roost for the sky puppies:
https://www.batcon.org/about-bats/bat-house-guidelines/

Show threadEllen 🎈
@mycrowgirl @arisummerland My dad built a bat house a couple years ago, but as far as we can tell it has elicited zero interest. Odd, as Mom and Dad have a creek/meadow behind their house. I've bookmarked the article...
Mar 1 at 7:51pmWeb
Show threadAri "Two Sheds" JacksonMar 2

@Starry1086 @mycrowgirl

This article is making me want to construct a new set of bat houses! I don't have the right-facing exposure on my house, though (I think?), and the shade tree that was protecting the bat house from overexposure to heat has come down (some of the tree work). Hmmm... lots to ponder! We do have lots of bats, though, so someone is doing it right.

Show threadLisa 🦔Mar 2

@arisummerland some folks add a secondary roof overhanging the bat house to give it additional shade. That’s probably what I’ll end up doing when I build a new one here. I can’t put it too close to a shade tree because that’s a setup for disaster with our hurricanes here. 😅

It’s tricky, there’s not much rhyme or reason why some bat houses are immediately occupied while others site empty for years!

@Starry1086