Bugbear: the bats are out and about...

[BoldHighlander]

I love how these threads take on a life of their own!

I got the be-jesus scared out of me when, after (another) sleepless night, I came upstairs to the main levels of the house, made a cuppa tea, and looked out the kitchen window- only to see a HUGE head staring back at me! Some silly deer was standing in my shrubbery, staring at me in my dressing gown- two days of stubble and a half-brewed cuppa in my hand. I nearly widdled myself... It's not the type of thing one expects to see at 0430 out the window. I'm rather proud of myself that I didn't drop my favorite mug or waken the rest of the house.

The visual image is great Scott, thanks!

I live in a "city" that is only minutes from the wooded regions of the pacific nw, with lots of greenspace within, and as such gets its share of wildlife visitors, mainly in the forms of deer (a real traffic hazard at night), raccoons, possums, skunks (earlier this year our collie got sprayed just out by the garage), coyotes, & all kinds of winged critters (just the other day a pair of bald eagles flew low past my house!). Once ina blue moon there are cougar sightings on the fringe of town, and the odd bear sighting.

In thinking about your deer, Scott, I'm reminded of one late night while on foot patrol (security guard), as I was rounding the corner of a condo I heard the sound of running feet on the foot path, only to confront (& nearly get speared) by a 6 point buck running nearly into me!

Another night I saw a "dog" crossing the small park straight at me (I was in the shadows), when I noticed his very bushy tail. I realized it was a coyote & I whistled out at him. He stopped within 40', I then lit him up with my flashlight & he slowly turned and headed back towards the woods. I think he was out hunting neighborhood cats.

Or...that's what it sounded like. If you are familiar with the nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus), you will know it to be small, nocturnal, common to Texas...and incredibly noisy when frightened.

I leave to your imagination the sight of an old man running for dear life, unzipped, before the snarling giant glyptodon.

[Even my wife doesn't know the whole of this story.]

The infamous "Texas Turkey"!!!

[Kiltboy]

If you are familiar with the nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus), you will know it to be small, nocturnal, common to Texas...and incredibly noisy when frightened.

After years of living in Texas, darn armadillos still scare me every time I encounter one. Usually I don't see them, as they scurry off so fast, they are just a blur. And they are not afraid to make some noise as they run.

Actually, I think they are just a future sporran with legs.

Did see a few bats last weekend, in a display in the Ft Worth Zoo. Bats flying all over the dimmed display room. Good exhibit with native Texas nocturnal wildlife and insects. And... no, they didn't combine the insects and bats in the same space.

[ohiopiper]

When I was a kid, we'd shoot at them with our spring-powered BB-guns. Not to harm them, as they are far too quick. It was fun to watch them dodge a slow flying BB as they were scooping up mosquitos. How they knew the difference, I've no idea, but i cannot recall a single incident of a bat going for the BB, only dodging them. Pretty impressive to watch.

Like a lot of things I did as a kid, now I just shake my head and marvel that I survived to adulthood.

We did trap one in the house when I was a kid. We were all geting ready for church one Sunday morning when my sister began screaming like a banshee. Upon investigation, she was curled up in the fetal position at the foot of her bed with this poor bat circling the top of the room, obviously driven to distraction by the incessant screaming. Dad and I caught it in a towel and threw it out the back door.

[Bugbear]

All the night creatures...

There was a great horned owl down the street last year, but it was only passing through for an evening if I remember correctly.

[Bugbear]

Actually, I have a cat that likes for me to throw a stick or pebble to land near him so he can pounce on it. Kind of like playing fetch.

I'm fairly sure the cat knows I am throwing the stick or pebble because he meows if I wait too long to throw it. It's very funny.

[Woodsheal]

Unfortunately, here in the Northeast US, our bats are dying off from "White Nose Syndrome" - a fungal infection:

http://www.fws.gov/WhiteNoseSyndrome/

The Little Brown Bat, our most common species, is pretty much gone around here. I didn't see a single bat flying around our house this past summer, and I used to see many every night. I miss them...!

[Bigkahuna]

Unfortunately, here in the Northeast US, our bats are dying off from "White Nose Syndrome" - a fungal infection:

http://www.fws.gov/WhiteNoseSyndrome/

The Little Brown Bat, our most common species, is pretty much gone around here. I didn't see a single bat flying around our house this past summer, and I used to see many every night. I miss them...!

Bats throughout the Eastern part of the U.S. have been decimated by the "White Nose Syndrome". Whole populations in some areas have been wiped out, and there doesn't seem to be a cure. The disease seems to thrive in the same conditions that bats like to hibernate in. As a result, we may be faced with 700 tons more of insects than we would have been had the bats survived.

[SteveB]

Fortunately the home made bat-houses are in regular use and the mosquito population suffers massive control. The little brown bats here do not seem to have any White Noise disease yet. Hope it stays that way.

Slainte

[Mike_Oettle]

Ali wrote: “you do know that bats carry rabies, don't you?”

Well, some species do. I have not had any reports hereabouts of bat-borne rabies, so I don’t think there is much risk of it in my part of the world.
Most people’s dislike of bats has little or nothing to do with rabies, and more to do with the (largely) irrational fear that they will get caught up in one’s hair (women especially).
Regards,
Mike

[thoth51]

I find them fascinating as well.