Squeaky Bats

[The charming Mr. Blair]

Barnabas has revived my childhood curiosity for those wondeful flying mammals: Bats. Last night was the first real warm night of the year in southern New England. Being such a pleasent evening I decided to take a walk at dusk. The cloud cover make the sky milky white -- perfect for bat watching!
I stood there in the dark watching in amazment. Bats, everywhere; their seemingly erratic flight mesmerized me. Up and down, left to right, circular swoops. And, yes! Squeaks. Not quite like on DS, but they do make squeaky sounds.
I remembered how my mother told me that bats have been know to swoop down and get entangled in peoples hair, getting stuck to the point where they could only be removed by shaving off your hair ( I don't have to worry about that anymore). AS a child I wouldn't go out at night without a hat. But that is just an Old Wives' Tale. However, the bats were flying very close to my head. My guess they were after the insects that were attracted to me.
I would like to know more about bats. They must hybernate? Hoe long do they live? Do they hang upsidedown in trees during the day? Anyone out ther have bat knowledge?
Well, I must go and take another walk in the night. More bat observations!

[Raineypark]

Out here on the East End of Long Island, we're encouraged to erect bat houses on our property as they can be a great help with our horrific mosquito problem.  But hardly anyone does it, mostly, I suspect, because of those old wives tales.  

On the one hand, people believe that bats have this amazing sonar that lets them swoop around in total darkness all night...and on the other hand, people believe that bats will fly too close to their heads and get tangled in their hair!...Oy.  

Me, I've never been lucky enough to see one in the wild.  The population density is so large out here now that we're lucky we still have squirrels (not that I'm fond of THOSE little buggers!)  The rabbits have disappeared, along with the frogs and the racoons and the mice.

OH, and did you hear how we tried to handle our mosquito problem a couple of years ago?  They found West Nile Virus in the mosquitos.....so they sprayed every inch of this island and all they managed to kill off was the local lobster population and the industry that went with it.  

Sorry to have drifted so far OT SonofBarnabas....but you might want to think about a bat house!

Raineypark

[Cassandra]

I don't live that far from the city (about 20 minutes) and a few years back, one of those little creatures managed to find itself inside my house one night! I was pulling clothes in from the line one night and it must have been hiding inside the sheets. (no more late night washes for me) Anyway, I couldn't get it out of the house for nothing and the unwelcomed visitor stayed for two days! Called the cops and everything, but they said there was nothing they could do to help. Thank Goodness, my parents live downstairs, so we all stayed with them for two days. On the second day, I figured it was safe enough to venture back inside because I thought they slept during the daytime. Well, I was in for a suprise! As I was trying to get the things I needed from the house, I heard a sound coming from my upstairs bathroom, like the shower curtain moving back & forth. I crept up the steps and into the bathroom and sure enough, there he was, sitting in my bathtub trying to get some water!! I let out such a loud scream and the bat just jumped up and flew straight out the window! (We had called a guy who specializes in bats and he had told us to leave all the windows open that hopefully it would fly out.) Well so much for the old wives tales about sleeping all day, I guess the thing was so hungry & thirsty he figured this time he'd make an acception. Needless to say, that's the last time I ever decided to take the clothes in at night, I don't care if it's a rain storm out there, they'll stay put until the morning!

[VAM]

I believe at  www.sandiegozoo.org  you will find some info about bats.

[jennifer]

Barnabas has revived my childhood curiosity for those wondeful flying mammals: Bats. Last night was the first real warm night of the year in southern New England. Being such a pleasent evening I decided to take a walk at dusk. The cloud cover make the sky milky white -- perfect for bat watching!
I stood there in the dark watching in amazment. Bats, everywhere; their seemingly erratic flight mesmerized me. Up and down, left to right, circular swoops. And, yes! Squeaks. Not quite like on DS, but they do make squeaky sounds.
I remembered how my mother told me that bats have been know to swoop down and get entangled in peoples hair, getting stuck to the point where they could only be removed by shaving off your hair ( I don't have to worry about that anymore). AS a child I wouldn't go out at night without a hat. But that is just an Old Wives' Tale. However, the bats were flying very close to my head. My guess they were after the insects that were attracted to me.
I would like to know more about bats. They must hybernate? Hoe long do they live? Do they hang upsidedown in trees during the day? Anyone out ther have bat knowledge?
Well, I must go and take another walk in the night. More bat observations!

Dear Son
where did you see all the bats?were you in the woods?
i think i'm too close to the city but probaly would see them closer to the Cape!

jennifer

[LizGrayson]

Well for some reason, growing up in the suburbs, I was surrounded by bats.  My parents still have them in their garage haning in the eaves, and my sister's new home was actually infested with them. She and her husband saw one just walk into their bedroom one night, and then her spaniels tried to get it...well they chased it down the stairs and she managed to throw a bucket over it.  To make a long story short, that one was let out the front door to fly off and do its bat thing, but they called the exterminator, who found a nest of about fifty or so that had gotten in through a hole in the attic roof.  Needless to say they had the place fumigated and the hole in the roof patched. 

[The charming Mr. Blair]

HI Jennifer:
I live in the suburbs where there are still a lot of trees and wooded areas near by.
I guess the key to seeing lots of bats is going out before it gets too dark. Dusk, when Barnabas wakes up.
Son

[JWGucciEnvy]

I never cared for bats, the first time I ever saw a bat in the wild was at my uncle's farm.  Last year, I saw one in my friends' house.  We shove it at outside with a broom!!  



Jon

[Birdie]

When i was young, just a few years ago, hehe, one of my friends had an old barn in her back yard.  Being the nice kids we were we got a lot of fun out of throwing rocks at it and watching the bats fly out.  

About ten years ago at our last house my husband was painting the side of the house.  When he removed the shutters there sat a bat, at first he thought it was a mouse,  Well, it opened its wings, luckily my husband kept his cool and didn't fall three storeis down.

Birdie

[AllenCollins]

Interesting topic!

I grew up in the country, "out in the sticks to be exact" and have many bat stories!

My family raised chickens during WW II as a second income, (my grandfather was a school teacher). On the property was a barn which was infested with bats! We would climb to the highest loft, (approximatey 30' off grade) and watch them nest.

Yes they do hang by thier feet when they roost, but in most cases were not the hideous looking things with glowing eyes we see on TV. The one around our place looked like mice with tiny pig shaped ears, pretty plain.

However watching them fly is really wild. We had a pool which was located on the woods edge. When the pool light was turned on the bats would swoop and drink from the pool. I remember on time specifically in July '88 that there were tiny, (baby) bats actually flying pretty tamely like a humming bird flying circles, at the waters level. Bats do squeak and their wings make a fluttery, flappy sound.

I have always founding bats sort of intimidating, but have never had a dangerous experience.

Just a little reminiscing.

B