|
|
| Going batty along the Deschutes
|
|---|
| Bureau of Land Management personnel conduct bat surveys
|
|---|
 | | SCOTT STAATS/CENTRAL OREGONIAN | | A Yuma bat, such as this one, is just one of the varieties of bats found along the Deschutes River. |
|
Darkness set in quickly down in the canyon, the crescent moon adding no light. Suddenly, a few bats could be seen dipping and diving on the evening's supply of insects rising from the river. Then, an unsuspecting bat, flying a little too close to the water's surface, found itself caught in a net stretched across part of the river.
The bat was quickly brought back to a work station set up on the bank of the river. There, Stephanie Powers, a wildlife technician with the Bureau of Land Management, carefully handled the small flying mammal.
"The first thing we do is determine the sex of the bat," she explained. "We don't want to hold the females too long if they show signs of having young."
After close observation and several measurements, Powers identified the specimen as a female Little Brown Bat. She could tell that it had young in the past but not this year. The bat was then weighed and released, the entire process taking only a few minutes.
At only 20 years old, Powers is the field leader on the project and can be found somewhere in central Oregon up to four nights a week surveying bats.
"I think bats are really cool," she said. "This has been a good learning experience and I've had a chance to see a lot of wildlife." The Prineville resident is currently attending COCC in Bend and will be transferring this winter to OSU where she hopes to earn a Masters degree in biology or wildlife.
Powers wants to educate people about bats and show that they are not the creepy, flying blood-sucking creatures they are made out to be. In fact, bats are a very beneficial species in nature. According to Powers, they are a great insecticide, eating insects such as mosquitoes, moths and even bark beetles.
"Batting is a dirty job," Powers said. "You have to love biology and wildlife to get out here and do this." It can be not only dirty, but wet. While setting up the mist nets just before dark that chilly evening, she slipped on the slick river bottom and went over her waders. She simply emptied out the boots on shore and continued work.
While working with bats, it's inevitable that the handlers get bitten. "We probably get bit about 100 times a night," Powers said. But most of the bats have smaller teeth and their bites often don't even break the skin. However, they wear gloves when handling the larger bats. All people handling bats are required to get a series of three rabies shots.
There are 16 species of bats in Oregon but that night they netted only two species, the second being a Yuma Bat. Their best night numbered about 30 bats, representing eight different species.
Special monitoring equipment also picks up the ultrasound calls of bats. Each call is like a fingerprint for a given species of bat. When field work is over, Powers has about 800 calls she needs to review and identify. She will take an occasional DNA sample from a bat to verify its species. The sample is taken from the thin skin on the wing.
On this particular night, the BLM was conducting a study in the Cline Buttes area along the Deschutes River to document the species and numbers of bats present. This study will last five to 10 years to determine the population status of the animals throughout the area's growing development.
The bigger study is the Oregon Bat Grid project, according to Bill Dean, wildlife biologist for the Deschutes Resource Area with BLM in Prineville. His agency is helping with this statewide study to determine distribution and population densities of bats.
This year's study started in June and lasts to September 15. Survey sites are usually located near water and places where bats nest such as old buildings or cliffs with holes and crevasses. Two or three mist nets are set up and checked about every ten minutes. Survey crews consist of two to four people. Surveys each night usually last about three to four hours, which can have crews out until 2 or 3 a.m. Powers said they have seen some interesting animals such as pine martins and elk while out at night.
The Little Brown Bat
The little brown bat has glossy brown fur, pointed ears and hair on its toes. It is between three and five inches long and weighs between 1/16 and 1/2 an ounce. It is found in most of the United States and Canada except for the south central and south eastern United States and northern Alaska and Canada.
The little brown bat lives along streams and lakes and often forms nursery colonies in buildings. In the winter it hibernates in caves and mines.
The bat uses echolocation to find its prey. This method sends out a high-frequency sound that hits an object and bounces it back to the bat. The bat can then identify what the sound hit and where the object is located. When it finds its prey, the bat grabs it with its wings and tucks it into a pouch formed by bringing its wing and tail membranes together. It then grabs the insect with its sharp teeth and eats it.
The little brown bat hunts at dusk and at night. Its food can include insects such as gnats, flies, moths, wasps and beetles. It wakes up every couple of weeks during hibernation but doesn't feed.
Mating season occurs in the fall, but fertilization doesn't happen until spring. A nursery colony may have thousands of bats in it. The female little brown bat gives birth to only one baby. The baby bat will nurse for about two weeks and fly when it is three weeks old.
Scott Staats is a full-time outdoor writer who has lived in Prineville for the last 10 years. His articles have appeared in local, regional and national publications. He can be reached at: falcon@crestviewcable.com |
| Go to top. |
|
|
