During the same trip where I saw the blue-gray gnatcatcher in Stiles and Hart, I also came across a bat on one of the paths.
It was completely unexpected of course since it was the middle of the day and the bat was on the ground. I had only seen bats in flight before so it was interesting to see one up close, but also concerning of course. I actually noticed it as I was walking over it, I stopped, took some pictures from behind, then walked over it again, saw it turn its head and look at me, then took one from the front.
I was worried it was sick, but it moved its head, so hopefully it wasn't too sick. I mentioned it to my dad and he told me about white nose syndrome, which is a mysterious disease killing Massachusetts bats. The name comes from the white fungus growing on the bats' noses. I didn't see any on this bat's nose so hopefully it's in the clear.
For more information on white nose syndrome:
Boston.com article: http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/02/21/bat_sickness_reaches_mines_in_western_massachusetts/
U.S. Fish and Wildlife: http://www.fws.gov/northeast/white_nose.html
Comments
(btw - good meeting you on the BwBTC)
dan
:)
@Meg- Yes- hope so too. I had never heard of white nose syndrome but I'm glad this little guy didn't have it.
@Colleen- Yes- that surprised me too! This guy had so much hair it had waves in it- not unlike The Donald ;) haha
@Chris- Thanks for stopping by! Bats are very cool- we love watching them hunt for bugs at dusk. Thanks too for the props about the gnatcatcher. I should go back and look for it now that I have my zoom lens.