Local bat enthusiasts Ellen Ravkind and Anne Alderfer along with bat expert Kate Rugroden from the Bat World Sanctuary provided our program, held at the amphitheater overlooking the south pond. Kate talked about the bats in this area and the role the sanctuary plays in education and rehabilitation. Ellen and Anne demonstrated the use of the echo location devices from Wildlife Acoustics (Echo Meter Touch 2).
We began to see bats flying overhead during Kate’s talk – too fast for anyone to ID. But once Anne and Ellen turned on their echo location systems, we were able to count them and find out which ones were there. The recap is thanks to Anne Alderfer. The results include a “test sample” Anne took at SWNP on June 17th.
- Seminole (23 recordings–the most prominent species)
- The following have 1-3 recordings and are found commonly in our area: Evening, Tri-colored, Eastern Red, Mexican, Southern Yellow, and Hoary.
- These three were identified as possible: Big Brown, Silver Hair and Cave Myotis.
- Not normally found in our area: Western Yellow.
Kate Rugroden (in photos below) is Director of Special Projects for the Bat World Sanctuary and is a licensed wildlife rehabilitator, specializing in bats, raccoons, and opossums. To learn more www.batworld.org or www.bwmidcities-batworld.org.
Dr. Ellen Ravkind is the Naturalist Manager/Environmental Educator at River Legacy Foundation/River Legacy Living Science Center. Anne Alderfer is a volunteer at River Legacy Park and a Master Naturalist. She is involved in innumerable nature activities in this area.
https://www.facebook.com/FriendsofSWNP/?ref=hl to find out more about the SWNP check out their fb page.
Comments are closed.