One of my favorite ways to wind down after a hard day is to have a margarita out on our deck and watch the sun set. Shortly after sunset is a time that we call bat 30. The bats come out at dusk and we can watch their silhouettes as they do loopdeloops across our yard. Their flight pattern is a predictable wide circle around the garden with little darts off in any direction to snatch up an unsuspecting insect. Usually we see about 4 bats at a time but it is hard to tell. Sometimes they swoop so close that we can hear the air as they rush by. I'm guessing when they swoop low over me I was just saved from a mosquito bite.
Common backyard bats are the big brown bat which often lives in peoples attics or garages and the red bat which lives in trees under bark. I was lucky enough to be part of a bat survey where we monitored the calls of the bats as they flew around the yard at night. I recorded calls from not only the big brown and the red bat but also the endangered Indiana bat. I was really excited to find out that my garden is providing habitat for an endangered species. Probably my Indiana bats were part of the colony that over winters in cliff cave but in the summer forages in a wider area, including my garden.
To help attract bats to our yard we added two bat houses that we mounted on either side of our chimney. So far no bats have moved into the houses but I guess that just means that there is plenty of excellent bat habitat in the area and they don't need our house. We leave the houses up because we want the bats to have a place to live if their tree falls down or someone fixes the hole in their attic. Bat house designs are available from Bat Conservation International or ready to go houses can be bought at many wildflower markets.
Personally, I think bats are pretty cute. I have never had one get in my hair although I have had a few fly very close. I have heard them referred to as sky puppies which is fitting with their funny little faces and fury bodies. They are so acrobatic in the sky and so much fun to watch. I also enjoy the fact that I know they are eating mosquitoes and other bugs in my yard. They are my favorite garden mammal and they are welcome in my backyard any time.
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