Bat Night is the highlight of my year now. It is so cool to see these little guys so close up. They are just amazing creatures. I will tell Willy you say hi and give him a hug from you. So glad you enjoyed the post.

I did enjoy it. And I'm glad to hear Willy is back to his old self again. His hair will grow back, and he'll be looking for his next adventure soon I'm sure.

Thanks, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife biologist may use some of these photos for a presentation, how cool is that? VERY!

We will have to take Willy on an adventure to put on the blog.

Thank you, so glad you enjoyed it. Bat Night is always fun for me.

Thanks, I always have a blast on Bat Night. I always learn something and it is so interesting seeing these bats so close up. So glad you enjoyed the post.

Thank you, so glad you enjoyed it. Bat Night is always loads of fun for me. I don't think the bats enjoy it as much as I do though.:)

It would be cool to see them up close I think, but I sure wouldn't be holding one any time soon. lol!

They are very cool to see close-up. I have not gotten to hold one, I imagine you would need special training to learn how to hold them without hurting them. I think the biologists also get rabies vaccines, just in case, but when I asked if they had ever been bitten by one, they said "no". That is pretty cool. Seems these bats are pretty good at putting up with biologists.:)

Still...I ain't taking chances on that one lol!

I don't blame you. Actually they suggest no one touch a bat. This makes sense since bats are out at night and usually if a person has a chance to touch a bat it would be daytime and the bat would probably be on the ground. Bats out in the day and/or on the ground is a sign they are sick. Best to leave all wild critter alone if you ask me.

Thank you, so glad you enjoyed them. Only the bat biologist get to hold the bats but I got to touch two. They are fuzzy. Very cool little creatures, we are so lucky to be part of the study. It is so interesting.

It is a neat post!  They are kind of cute you know!:) 

I think they are cute too.

Thanks so glad you enjoyed it. The biologists are just the nicest people. They must have really interesting jobs. I am just glad I had bats for them to come study and that they let me hang out with them taking photos. The biologists were wonderful about holding the bats up for me to get a good photo. They also let me touch a bat, very cool. They are kind of woolly and soft, the bats not the biologists, I didn't touch and of the biologists, so I have no idea what they feel like. :) Yes those bat flies get a free ride, they are also parasites on the bats. I don't have much info about the flies but hope to learn more about them.

Wow, must have been a wonderful experience for ya! Every night, if I say out late enough, I would see some bats fly around. To me their flight pattern seems really distinct. As if you can tell by the way they fly that they're bats. Those flies may be beneficial to the bats, who knows? They could beat the bacteria or whatever that grown on bats.

I'm sure the biologists are just normal people, with typical skin...try to resust the urge! LOL

I agree, bats do have a different look to their flight than birds. I don't know too much about the bat flies, just that they 'biologests' say they are parasites.  On the biologist and how they 'feel', I would have to agree with you, just a guess, but I will of course do no further investigation. :)

I KNOW!!! Bat Night ROCKS!

Thank you, I just love Bat Night. I have such a blast seeing the little bats so close up and I am learning a lot. The cool news is if time permits, they may... just may come back and trap again this year. That would be way cool. Also the US fish and wildlife guy asked if he could use my photos in his presentations about the study. Of course I totally told him YES! I burned a CD of last years and this years trapping, that way he can pick the best of both years. So not only is that way cool and a huge complement but it forces who know how many more people to look at my photos.:) So glad you enjoyed the post and Bat Night!

Thank you, it is so cool to see these little bats close up. They are really quite cute. I am glad we didn't get rained out either. It was really bright though, with the clouds and a full moon it almost seemed like day time. It made it easy for us to see but also made it easier for the bats to see the net. Still 4 bats I am told is good. :)

Thanks, I am not sure what all areas have nectarivorous bats. I do know they migrate up to Southern Arizona and I am pretty sure Southern Texas and maybe the south part of California... you will have to do some research. I am sure if call your local game and fish office and/or US fish and wildlife office, they could tell you what kinds of bats are in your area.  So glad you enjoyed the post.

Thanks for the info meg.  I really do intend on investigating...I would be thrilled see one at a feeder.

Let me know what you find out. The ones we have here migrate, they are only here from May to October, they go back down to Mexico once it gets cold. They don't hibernate like some bats. They are so very cool to see. Really interesting creatures, and very important in the ecosystem.

You are welcome, thanks for stopping by. Glad you enjoyed the post.

Thank you, so glad you enjoyed the post. There are about 1,100 bat species worldwide, they are the 2nd largest group of mammals, about twenty percent of all mammal species are bats. That is a lot of bats. :)

It was wonderful, I am so glad I could share it with everyone here. I am also giving the photos from this year and last years, Bat Night to Scott at U.S. Fish and Wildlife to use in his presentation about the study. The great thing is he asked for them, so that really made me feel good. Thanks for stopping in, so glad you enjoyed the post.

Thank you, so glad you enjoyed it. It is great to have a place to share these things. The little brown bat, if I remember correctly is the most common bat in the U.S.

The biologist that came out to trap the bats, do this all the time. I have read that biologists that often trap mammals get vacinated against rabies, now if they get bit they still have to have treatment but at a lesser extent if you or I were bit. I asked them if these lesser long-nosed bats ever bit one of them and they all said no. They said these bats seem to put up with trapping quite well. But last year one of the biologists said with certain species of bats they always wear leather gloves. And one of the ways they get them out of the nets is to let them bite the glove. So I guess it just depends on what type of bat it is. Of course as you know, you should never touch a bat or any wild creature, you never know which one might bite. :)

Thank you, I had such a blast. I got to touch not only one but two. They are so darn cool! I love bat night! They are kind of fuzzy, wooly and soft.

Holy mac-a-noly! That is almost as many species as there are species of bats. I was looking up bat parisites before I posted this, there seem to be two main types Nycteribiidae (no wings) and Strelidae (winged) Now once you get to species in each the list goes on forever, as you saw when you looked them up. The biologists just called them 'bat flies' on bat night but I am sure if I asked them, they would give me all kinds of info about them. I will save that for another day, and when I get better photos of the bat flies. Thanks so much for the links.

ROTFLOL! Yes it is! I think they do go on forever! I am willing to bet there are those out there they have no knowledge about.

You are welome.

I have to wonder do these 'bat flies' specialise in a species of bat. There are something like 1100 bat species and the bat flies say 800 so I have to wonder is there a bat fly for each species of bat... almost. I bet there are people out there that all they do is study bat flies, and most of the rest of us have never even heard of them... not the people or the bat flies. LOL

LOL! So true! I had never heard of either until you post...but then I did not know there were tha many types of bats!

:) I always seem to find the more I learn, the more I find out I have a lot more to learn. I only recently found out there were so many species of bats they make up close to 20 percent of all the mammal species, rodents top them. Bats are of course not rodents. Bats are in the order of Chiroptera which come from two Greek words, cheir "hand" and pteron "wing." Winged hand. :) http://www.untamedscience.com/biodiversity/animals/chordates/mammals/bats How is that for cool stuff you didn't know, but maybe you did and I didn't. :)

If you go to the link , they have a big illustration of a bat's wing you can see how closely it resembles our hand, one less finger but so cool. Bats are really amazing. But then again, when ever I really look into anything it becomes fascinating. I wish I had way more time and a way, way, way bigger brain. :)

Awesome!!! How cool is that? VERY and wow what great advances they have made. I hope all works out wonderfully. By the way, how is your daughter? Did they ever figure out what the allergy was, and how are the teeth?

It is awesome! They have made great strides and I am so happy!

She is btter. Still breaking out and very sensitive to any chemical she comes in contact with especially on her skin but it is very mild compared to what it was...we have to steam clean all the furniture. I used the "natural flea spray" on it and it made her break out last night.:(

We have come to the conclusion it was the chemicals that I used on the lawn that she came into contact with when she cleaned under it. She also was using WD-40 to try to loosen the bolts on the wheels and really rubbed it all into her hands- where she broke out first....

Her teeth are doing great! She loves the difference it makes in the way she feels physically and her smile.

under the mower....

Excellent about the teeth. Bummer that she is still having reactions but good you figured out what may be causing them.

Great about your sight. That has to be wonderful news!

It really is. This time of not seeing has been a little rough.

It must be hard. I can't wait until you can see, that is going to be so totally cool. I can only imagine how awesome it is going to be for you. You are going to have so much fun, just looking at stuff. :) I am so happy this is working for you! How wonderful.

Yes, I will and thank you! A sunrise and sunset and my daughter and...the list is endless!

I can only imagine.

I can see OK with help. I am lucky, the only thing I think would be cool is to thread a needle and manually focus my camera. Back in the old days they had a split focus, I could do that, but now days the lenses are set up so you have to actually see. :) Ah well, I have auto focus and my computer where I can see the image in a real size not the tiny size one sees in a camera. That is little to wish for, I am so lucky that I can see most everything. I hope the same and better for you!

Thanks, I am not really sure but the biologists call them 'parisites'. One of the biologists during 'bat night' took the time to pick them all off the bat, so my guess is they are not really friends. :) I am still trying to find out more about them.

Update: I asked one of the biologists about this and he said they do the bats no good. He said they don't usually harm them but he has seen bats that were so infested with these that the bat died. I also found out these bugs even though they have wings, don't fly... I thought that was weird.

They are amazing creatures. I have learned so much about them in the last year or so. We had a 'bat night' last year, I posted that one too. I have been looking forward to these bats since they left last year. They will soon be migrating back to Mexico. These little bats don't hibernate like many other bats, they have to find a warm place and Mexico is much warmer than here in the winter. I will miss them when they go.