Church kicks bats out of the belfry – and helps save the bats

One summer evening, thrilled volunteers watched as over 350 big brown bats flew out of the peak of the historic Tranquility Church. CWF biologist Mackenzie Hall worked to safely rid the church of the large bat population, while still giving these bats a place to live.

During this project, Tranquility Church was very accommodating, Mackenzie installed 5 bat boxes on the back of the church, enabling the bats to still have a home. MacKenzie also performed bat acoustic monitoring surveys, which allow for documentation of the diversity as well as the abundance of bats in any given area.

There was also lots of support from the Antler Ridge volunteers, who helped install the bat boxes, and the wildlife rehabilitators from Mercer County Wildlife Center, New Jersey Bat Sanctuary, and Wildbaby Rescue, all of whom helped rehabilitate any pups that were found after falling from the attic.

• To read the full article and watch the video, click here.
• To learn more about CWF’s Bat Project, click here.
• For more information on how CWF assesses bat problems in the home, click here.
  
• To watch New Jersey News 12’s video on this project: “Bats in church attic find new roost,” click here.