Wisconsin Bat Program to hold WI Bat Count this Weekend

Marshfield (OnFocus) – Bats have become a species of interest to more and more people. According to AgWeb Farm Journal, globally, bats save agriculture as much as $53 billion per year in pesticide expenses. Bats have long been a friend of farmers. A little brown bat, for instance cane eat as many as 1,000 mosquito-sized insects in an hour. A nursing mother bat can eat as many as 4,500 insects in one night.

Bat populations, however, have been struggling, not just in Wisconsin, but across the country. White nose syndrome (WNS) has been known to wipe out entire populations of bats. To date, it is estimated the fungal infection has killed 6.7 million bats, according to the Wisconsin Bat Program. The Program has also found bat populations in Wisconsin to have decreased by 72-97 percent across the state.

WNS was first found in Wisconsin in 2007. Before that, it was not known exactly how many hibernacula, or hibernating locations, bats occupied in the state. Hibernacula can include natural caves, old mines, and abandoned railroad tunnels. Currently, there are 200 hibernacula in the state.

Acoustical surveys are completed during the summer with special echolocator equipment that can detect and record the ultrasonic sound bats make as they swoop and dive through the air in search of insects. These surveys are done by volunteers trained to use equipment borrowed from the Program or from county land and water conservation departments. Surveys are done by land or by water, with volunteers boating or driving along a survey route. While these surveys take training and special equipment, roost monitoring surveys are easy for anyone to complete, and can even be a great family activity.

Bats are monitored and their populations managed by the Wisconsin Bat Program. The Program is now looking for help for the Wisconsin Bat Count this weekend. Two such roost monitoring surveys are done during the year, with the first in early June, and another toward the middle to end of July.

Volunteers are citizen scientists with an interest in bats. That is truly the only qualification a person needs. The survey is being done this weekend, from July 17-19. Volunteers need simply head outside at dusk to a known roosting area of bats. This can be a bat house built for the purpose of attracting bats, or places bats have made home on their own. This includes barns, houses, sheds and other areas that stay warm throughout the day and into the night.

As the sun sets, bats will leave their roosting areas to look for food. A volunteer only need take up a post near the entrance of such a roost and count the number of bats that leave. The job is made easier by the fact that bats will usually leave the roost one or two at a time.

When the surveys started in 2007, only 18 surveys were completed. Last year, there were more than 20 times that amount. Surveys are all done by volunteers, with the Wisconsin Bat Program relies heavily on grants from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and private donations to complete their work.

A complete roost monitoring packet can be downloaded from the Wisconsin Bat Program page of the Wisconsin Aquatic and Terrestrial Resource Inventory website, wiatri.net. Those interested in volunteering will also be able to enter their survey information on the website. Those looking for a bat roost site to monitor can email [email protected] to get help finding a nearby roost site.

We welcome your stories! Contact us at [email protected]!