This year marked my third time attending the Northeast Bat Working Group (NEBWG) annual meeting, held in Saratoga Springs, New York. Over the past few years, this three-day conference has become a valuable space for connection, learning, and collaboration among bat biologists, researchers, and educators from across the region. Once again, the meeting was both engaging and energizing, offering new perspectives while building on conversations from years past.
Earlier this month, I had the incredible opportunity to travel to Costa Rica for a Neotropical Bat Workshop, an immersive experience in one of the most biodiverse regions on the planet. As a wildlife biologist with a strong focus on bat conservation, this trip was a dream come true—offering hands-on research, species identification, and the chance to study bats in an ecosystem vastly different from the forests of New Jersey.
Honduran white bats (Ectophylla alba)
For five nights, we set up mist nets in various habitats, from dense rainforests, to banana groves, and over streams, each location revealing a new set of bat species. The sheer diversity was astounding—39 different species over the course of the workshop. Some were familiar, like those in the Myotis genus, while others I had only seen online. Every night brought surprises, from the tiny, delicate nectar-feeding batsto the impressive fishing bats that catch fish with their incredibly large legs and feet.
Greater fishing bat (Noctilio leporinus)
Handling these bats up close allowed us to study their unique adaptations—elongated snouts for nectar feeding, intricate nose-leaf structures for echolocation, and even suction-cup feet in species like Thyroptera tricolor (the disk-winged bat). Their incredible diversity reflects the rich ecological web they help sustain, from pollinating tropical flowers to keeping insect populations in check.
Looking for Six’s disk-winged bats
Beyond mist-netting, we deployed ultrasonic detectors for three nights to capture echolocation calls from bats that eluded our nets. Using specialized software, we later analyzed these recordings to identify additional species and compare flight activity across different habitats. Some species, like high-flying molossid bats, are rarely caught in nets but can be detected through their distinctive, fast-hopping echolocation calls. Acoustic monitoring complemented our mist-netting efforts, painting a broader picture of bat diversity in the region.
While the trip was an extraordinary research experience, it also reinforced the urgent need for bat conservation. Many of the species we encountered face habitat loss, climate change, and human-wildlife conflict. Learning from experts in the field and working alongside passionate colleagues emphasized the importance of protecting bat populations—not just in Costa Rica but globally.
Our work station for the night
Costa Rica’s neotropical bat diversity was nothing short of awe-inspiring. This workshop deepened my appreciation for the complexity of bat communities and provided new insights into research techniques I hope to apply back home. Every moment in the field was a reminder of how much there is to learn about these remarkable creatures.
Elegant myotis (Myotis elegans)
This trip was a powerful reminder that bats—whether in the rainforests of Costa Rica or the forests of New Jersey—play a vital role in maintaining healthy ecosystems. Protecting them means protecting the intricate balance of nature itself.
Pygmy fruit-eating bat (Dermanura phaeotis)Common long-tongued bat (Glossophaga mutica)
This marked my second year attending the Northeast Bat Working Group’s (NEBWG) annual meeting, a highly regarded 3-day event that convenes researchers, biologists, and educators to address the challenges bats face across North America. As in previous years, the meeting proved to be both inspiring and thought-provoking.
Discussions centered on the primary threats to bat populations, including white-nose syndrome, habitat loss, climate change, and collisions with infrastructure such as wind turbines. Attendees presented their research, proposed innovative solutions, and collaborated on strategies to mitigate these pressing issues. Sessions covered a diverse array of topics, from advancements in bat rehabilitation techniques to improved methods for monitoring populations and assessing the impacts of climate change.
Over the past 3 months, CWF biologists along with U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) New Jersey Field Office staff have been working late into the night to survey for bats in the Pinelands. Each survey begins just before sunset with the setup of large, nearly invisible nets stretched across wooded corridors. As night falls, bats emerge from their day roosts and fly through the sky to their foraging grounds. From sunset until 2 am, the team checks the nets every 10 minutes, carefully extracting any bat captured in the net for identification, weighing, and measurement.
Internationally celebrated, Bat Week runs from October 24th through October 31st. This week we celebrate bats to raise awareness for these nocturnal creatures that are often left in the dark. In New Jersey, we have two federally listed bat species, the Indiana bat and the Northern long-eared bat. Several more bats are being uplisted to the threatened and endangered list. Threats primarily include habitat loss and a fungal disease called white-nose syndrome.
To learn more about bats, why they matter, and how you can take action, visit https://batweek.org/ .
Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey (CWF) works hard every summer to protect New Jersey’s bats by employing continuous research, education and outreach endeavors. Our Summer Bat Count project and Mobile Acoustic Surveys, both in collaboration with the State’s Endangered and Nongame Species Program (ENSP), are essential components of these efforts, enabling us to gather and document crucial information about bat populations within the state.
Since 2003, the Summer Bat Count project has relied upon the commitment of dedicated volunteers. Equipped with only a fresh set of eyes, these volunteers tally bat populations at known summer roost sites, whether it be a bat house, attic, bridge or church. The project’s primary goal is to gain a deeper insight into the distribution of bats across the state, their preferred roosting conditions and the fluctuations in population over time. While the outcomes of this year’s survey are still pending, emergence surveys during the 2022 maternity season revealed a noteworthy increase in bats for a particular roost in Warren County. This roost has been consistently monitored, with data dating back before the introduction of White-nose Syndrome.
This past week, CWF biologist Meaghan Lyon attended the Northeast Bat Working Group (NEBWG) annual meeting with her fellow U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) New Jersey Field Office colleagues in snowy Burlington, Vermont. The NEBWG meeting brings together scientists, conservationists, educators, and enthusiasts to teach and learn about the most current bat research and tools to help improve our work in the field.
The annual meeting provided opportunities to learn about current research findings through presentations and poster sessions, as well as interact with fellow professionals from across the Northeast. Topics of interest included Myotis species updates for the range, impacts of renewable energies like wind farms, survey techniques, and diseases like white nose syndrome. A special training session was also offered to conference attendees focusing on the use of night vision aids for monitoring bats.
These meetings foster a sense of community among biologists and inspire new approaches for studying and conserving bats.
It’s official. The Northern long-eared bat is listed as an endangered species under the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (USFWS) Endangered Species Act. Earlier this year, the USFWS announced the proposed uplisting due to severe population declines. This uplisting would help to protect and recover this imperiled species and the ecosystems upon which they depend on.
A Northern long-eared bat is held in a gloved hand- these bats are less that 4 inches long with a wingspan of 9-10 inches.
Through the Endangered Species Act, species may be listed as either endangered or threatened. The term “Threatened” means a species is likely to become endangered within the foreseeable future. The term “Endangered” means a species is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range.
It’s that time of year again, the days are getting shorter, temperatures are dropping, and creatures of the night are lurking behind shadowy corners. As Halloween approaches one animal comes to the forefront of everyone’s mind – bats.
Bats have been misunderstood by humans for many years and are still among the most persecuted animals on earth. In many parts of the world, bats are killed due to fear or harmful myths that make them seem scary or even dangerous. However, the fact is that bats are one of the most beneficial animals to humans.
Shortly after the USFWS announced that the Northern long-eared bat was being proposed for uplisting to an endangered species, another announcement regarding the tricolored bat was released.
Tricolored Bats Photo by Pete Pattavina/USFWS
In mid-September, the tricolored bat (Perimyotis subflavus) was proposed to be listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Based on a thorough review of the species’ status, the Service found that the tricolored bat has declined dramatically across its range. Just as white-nose syndrome has been the cause of population decline for the northern long-eared bat, the tricolored bat has been similarly impacted. An estimated decline of more than 90 percent was found in affected tricolored bat colonies and white-nose syndrome is currently present across 59 percent of the species’ range.
