GoBatty

Bats land on pole at the bottom of the steel channel then climb up inside

While researching micro bats and their habitats, particularly in the metropolitan areas, we engage in some unusual activities. About two years ago I heard that a colony of bats were roosting on a power pole. They were actually hiding in a steel “U” shaped extension sitting at the very top on this pole. Myself and a friend decided to park our car a short distance from this roost and watch the bats emerge. Now, I don’t know about you but if you see some strangers sitting in a parked car on your front verge  acting a little weird I would be a touch suspicious. Anyhow, to allay the fears of the person who lived opposite where we parked our car , I decided to go and knock on the front door and explain who I was and what was I doing there. The lady who came to the front door was relieved at my explanation and then said the following comments: ” Is that why I keep on finding dead bats in my swimming pool”. Yes, as you may have guessed it, the young bats were coming out of the roost and diving down for a drink in her pool. They would hit the water and then stop and become waterlogged with their fur all wet thus becoming heavy. Poor things. They couldn’t climb out.

Now this video shown is not the pool in the story, but it does show you that micro bats do come down and drink in swimming pools.

Creatures of the night in Piney Lakes Reserve are sending some local residents a little batty. About 12 volunteers from the Friends of Piney Lakes will track and record the number of bats seen inhabiting the area in the next few weeks. The group will use fine nets called mist traps, as well as ultra-sonic sound detectors, which will allow them to record the type and number of bat species before releasing them.

The City of Melville mayor Katie Mair said many people were completely unaware of the plethora of life that existed within the area. “It would be fantastic to be able to show visitors how much the Piney Lakes has managed to preserve and protect the wildlife that exists right in the middle of suburbia,” she said. She said an existing nature trail through the reserve would be expanded and bat nesting boxes and signage along the trail would be erected by March.

Friends of Piney Lakes volunteer Joe Tonga, who will be involved in the project, said bats offered biological control over mosquitoes and flies. “This is particularly helpful for suburban areas with bodies of water which are the breeding grounds for many insects,” he said. Long-neck tortoises and more than 60 bird varieties can also be found in the Piney Lakes reserve.

— Published in the Melville Times

Warmer temperatures could see t he local re-emergence of deadly mosquito-born diseases like malaria and Ross River virus, the Lymphoedema Association of WA says. “We have plenty of local mosquitos that don’t carry  those diseases but are just an irritating nuisance, especially around our wetlands,” mayor Katherine Jackson told the Herald.

But the council and the public should not rely on pesticides to get rid of the pests, she added. “The impact of wildlife can be severe, affecting other animals up the good food chain. For example raptors who eat poisoned rats and mice might be severely debilitated or die,” she said.

At the recent Melville Wood and Wildlife Festival, bird and bat nest box expert Joe Tonga explained the need to build “bat boxes” to house the local mammals. He said bats fed on mosquitoes and could help reduce their numbers in the area. Mayor Jackson reckons such bat boxes could help solve the mosquito problem in Melville’s wetlands. “These boxes are for small insect-eating bats that are only about five centimetres long,” Mr Tonga said.

“Contrary to what people think, these bats do not get caught in people’s hair and they don’t attack anyone. In fact, there are no vampire bats in Australia.” Mr Tonga said building and installing bat boxes would encourage the nocturnal mammals to “do their work cleaning up the mosquitos” and other insects. Mayor Jackson said she wants more bat boxes at Piney Lakes Environmental Centre in Winthrop and other municipalities to stem the mosquito problem.