Bats in the Belfry!

Temperature: 97°

Humidity: 83%
Mostly Cloudy

Actually it was a picnic shelter not a belfry. One of the rangers brought me a bat this morning to identify. It was found on the floor of our picnic shelter not looking so good. He was covered in debris and not moving when he was brought to me. I covered the box he was in and tried to give him time to calm down a little. Poor guy! After a while I took him out and started to clean him off to get a better look. He was completely entangled in some spider webs and couldn't move very well. Once cleaned, he started to move more actively which gave me hope he would be okay.
Turns out that he was a Seminole Bat (Lasiurus seminolus). They are common in south eastern NC. The easiest way to ID him was to look at his fur color. Reddish-brown all over but streaked with white around its head. They are known to roost in clumps of Spanish moss near bodies of water. Surprisingly they are solitary bats, as are most bats that live in trees. Do you know why I love bats? Because they feed in flying insects and we all know what that means... bye bye skeeters!!!

Picture found at: Peter May Nature Photography