Hard to believe, but October is already here! And that can only mean one thing – bats! Everyday throughout the month of October, follow CWF on social media and our blog to fly high with these incredible creatures of the night! Each day we will have fun facts, quizzes, and amazing photos highlighting these amazing animals and the work CWF does to protect them.
Today we will give an overview of bats in New Jersey with a news article written by CWF Wildlife Biologist MacKenzie Hall. Next week, we will discuss some threats bats face today. On the third week we will debunk some myths about bats, and for the final week in October we will share ways you can help!
Make sure to follow us everyday on Facebook and Twitter and read our blog every Friday for our #31daysofbats!
CWF biologist MacKenzie Hall releases male Big Brown bat (c) Robert Thompson
by MacKenzie Hall, CWF Wildlife Biologist
Bats are a fascinating group of animals. They’ve been flapping through the skies for more than fifty million years and are still the only mammals on Earth that can truly fly. They’ve conformed their diets, their homes, and their bodies to nearly every environment worldwide, with more than 1,200 species now spread across the planet. Some are tiny (the one-inch long Bumblebee Bat of Thailand is the world’s smallest known mammal), while others are quite massive (the wingspan of tropical Flying Foxes can reach six feet!). Poke around online to see some of their incredible diversity. Just skip over the Wrinkle-faced Bat if you want to sleep at night.
By Dan Silvernail, Eagle Scout Candidate and Conserve Wildlife Foundation Volunteer
Big brown bats in an attic space (c) Phil Wooldridge
Bats don’t get enough credit. They fly around at night devouring thousands of mosquitoes and other unwanted insects. They reduce our need to use pesticides to protect crops and trees. Their droppings, or guano, can even be used as garden fertilizer.
Aside from their nightly all-you-can-eat buffet, they don’t have the easiest life. People needlessly fear them, believing myths that they all have rabies or want to fly into your hair! Over six million bats have been wiped out by a disease called White-nose Syndrome which attacks them while they are hibernating. Their natural forest habitat is often destroyed. When they find a nice building in which to live, they often get kicked out, leaving them in need of a tight, warm place to give birth and raise their young.
That’s where we can help. We can build these flying mammals nice summer homes where they can hang out with their babies. By creating narrow spaces inside the house, painting the outside a dark color and caulking up the sides to retain the heat, and roughening up the wood to make it easier for the bats to climb in, we give something back to the bats for sparing us hundreds more mosquito bites and playing an important role in our ecosystem.
That’s why I chose to put together bat house kits for my Eagle Scout Project and why you and your family can come to this weekend’s New Jersey Wild Outdoor Expo to help build them.
Family fun at the NJ Wild Outdoor Expo
When: Saturday, September 13 & Sunday, September 14, Noon and 2:00 PM
Where: Colliers Mills Wildlife Management Area, Jackson Township, New Jersey
What: The workshops are free. Materials are available on a first come, first served basis.
Children can do a lot of the work to build the house, so families are encouraged to do the project together.
The bat houses will be donated to Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey to put up before bats are evicted from attics, eaves, and buildings, so they can easily find a new place to roost. Stop by CWF’s table in the Conservation Tent to learn more about bats and other imperiled wildlife species. You can always pick up plans to buy materials and make bat houses on your own.
Please come show New Jersey bats some appreciation!
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.
NEW JERSEY’S STATUS REVIEW OF TERRESTRIAL MAMMALS HAS BEEN COMPLETED
By Michael Davenport, Marine Species & GIS Programs Manager
A little brown bat, one of several bat species which will be added to the state’s list of Endangered species. Photo by MacKenzie Hall.
The state’s Endangered and Nongame Species Program (ENSP) has recently completed a status review of the state’s terrestrial mammal species. As a result of this review, an additional four species (all bats) have been recommended for listing as Endangered in New Jersey (eastern small-footed myotis, little brown bat, northern myotis, and tricolored bat). An additional four bat species (big brown bat, hoary bat, red bat, and silver-haired bat) and a rodent (the meadow jumping mouse) have been recommended for listing as Special Concern. These additional listings are largely due to the impact of White-nose Syndrome, especially on cave-dwelling bats. However, additional increasing threats, such as wind turbines, were also factors.
Although these status changes have been recommended, it may take several more months or even years before the changes to the lists are made official through a formal rule-making process. The most recent status review for birds, for instance, was completed in 2005 but it wasn’t until 2012 that the status changes decided upon within that status review went into effect.
The process for determining a species’ state status is known as the “Delphi” method of species status review and it is a process which Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ (CWF) staff assists the state with.
The ENSP endeavors to complete a review of all species currently included on the Endangered and Nongame lists every 5-10 years. In addition, other species groups not currently included on those lists may be reviewed for status as well. At any given time, there may be several status reviews being conducted.
The first step taken in conducting a status review is to identify experts and invite them to participate as a member of a review panel. Members of the panel may be comprised of experts within academia, government agencies, non-profits, or private consultants as well as others.
Once a sufficient number of experts have agreed to participate, staff within the ENSP and CWF will compile background material for the species being reviewed. This may include reports, survey data, and data contained within the state’s Biotics database which is the electronic warehouse for all imperiled species data in New Jersey. This background data, as well as a list of the species being reviewed, and definitions of the status options, are then sent to the panelists for Round 1 of the review.
Delphi reviews are comprised of multiple “Rounds”. For each round, each panelist will choose a status for each species based upon that panelist’s expertise as well as the background material. The panelist then sends their selections and justification regarding each species to ENSP or CWF staff who compile the results submitted by all panelists. The review is completed anonymously, so the panelists do not know the identities of the other participants.
For each species, the panel must reach consensus of at 85% of the respondents for a species’ status to be determined. If consensus is not reached during the first round, that species will move on to be reviewed in Round 2. For each new round, the panelists’ status choices during the prior round, as well as all the comments made, are available to the panel, so that reviewers can consider the weight of evidence and other reviewers’ opinions on status as they prepare to vote again. This continues until consensus is reached for all species under review.
Once consensus is reached for all species or, if after four rounds have passed and consensus could not be reached for some species, ENSP or CWF staff take the compiled Delphi results to the Endangered and Nongame Species Advisory Committee (ENSAC). ENSAC reviews the results and makes the final recommendations on status for those species for which consensus was not reached by the expert panel. Based upon ENSAC’s recommendations, any changes to the Endangered and Nongame lists must go through a formal rule-making process before those changes can be made official.
The Delphi review process is a science-based, anonymous review by those with the most expertise on the species within New Jersey. A great deal of thought and time go into preparing for and carrying out a review and CWF has played a major role in assisting with the process. From the blue whale to fairy shrimp, each species will ultimately receive a state status, leading the way for conservation action.
No chocolate, few tropical nuts and fruits, more insect pests…
Just the mere thought of no chocolate makes us frightened!
Big brown bats in an attic space. (c) Phil Wooldridge
Bats are one of the most beneficial animals to humans. They play key roles in the environment, eating bothersome insects, pollinating flowers, and dispersing seeds. Unfortunately, across the world, and here in the Garden State, bats continue to face many threats including habitat loss and disease such as white-nose syndrome. White-nose syndrome, alone, can kill 90-100% of bats in affected caves.
But you can help! This year, why not trick or treat for bats?
Collect your trick or treat money and make a donation to CWF! Thank bats for all the wonderful benefits they provide to us. Halloween wouldn’t be the same without bats and delicious m&m’s, snickers, and almond joys.
Make a donation to Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ and help us to protect NJ’s bat population.
Or consider adopting an Indiana bat, NJ’s federally endangered bat, to help protect its future here in NJ.
To learn more about how bats benefit humans, read on!
Bats are primary pollinators of many tropical fruits like bananas, mangoes, and dates, guavas, and figs. The agave cactus relies on bats for pollination. No agave = no tequila (scary!)
Bats also help in seed dispersal. In fact, seeds dropped by bats can account for up to 95 percent of forest regrowth on cleared land. Bats spread the seeds of almonds, cashews, and chocolate. Did you read that? CHOCOLATE! Bats help us to have more cacao trees, which produces the yummy main ingredient of our favorite Halloween treats!
Closer to home in New Jersey, bats eat bugs, and a lot of them. All nine species of bats found inNew Jersey eat insects, consuming one-third of their weight in bugs each night. Bats play essential roles in keeping populations of night-flying insects in balance. Just one bat can catch hundreds of insects in an hour, and large colonies catch tons of insects nightly, including beetles and moths that cost American farmers and foresters billions of dollars annually, not to mention mosquitoes in our backyards.
Sundays in my house usually involve the New York Times and some hard-core housework. But on a recent sunny Sunday, I found myself inMorris County, testing the limits of my flexibility as I maneuvered myself through a small opening that is the entrance to Hibernia Mine, the most important bat hibernation area inNew Jersey.
The entrance to Hibernia Mine.
Guided, with much patience and humor, by partner-in-bat-protection John Gumbs of the Bat Research Center and Mackenzie Hall, CWF’s resident bat biologist, I climbed up into a small space atop a steel door and, displaying little grace or athleticism, managed to wedge myself in the wrong direction, then the right direction, and finally to descend into the main mine shaft of Hibernia.
Once inside, aided by a headlamp, my eyes adjusted to the dark world and I was able to take in this old mine that is such an important site for our resident hibernating bat populations and, hopefully, a location that can play a critical role in its recovery.
White Nose Syndrome (WNS), the fungal infection that is devastating cave and mine bats acrossNorth America, took its toll at Hibernia Mine. Pre-WNS counts regularly found 30,000 bats in Hibernia. The population crashed over the winter of 2008, when 90% of the bats in the mine died and, with subsequent deaths during winter ’09 and ‘10, now only 1,500 call this place home. The remains of thousands of dead bats, scattered on the floor throughout the mine, bear sad testament to the losses seen by this place since WNS emerged as a mass killer of bats.
Squeezing into Hibernia Mine.
On this particular Sunday, we went into the mine to help John Gumbs with a research study that seeks to shed light – literally and figuratively – on the progression of the fungus that causes WNS and, in so doing, help develop a cure, a barrier, or at least a better model for the recovery of the population.
Walking deep into the mine with John and Mackenzie, it was hard to get a true feeling of the earth pressing down on top of you. The main shaft we were walking through was wide and tall. Parallel tracks down the shaft were evidence of the presence of a steam train that had hauled ore from the mine during its peak production phase in the late 1800’s. Traces of soot from the underground steam trains mark the ceiling of the shaft. It was only when we went deeper into the mine, and explored a partially collapsed shaft with boulders as large as VW vans hanging above our heads, that a sense of the weight of the place became apparent.
But we were not there to explore. We were there to work. The purpose of our trip into the mine was to take photographs of bats under UV light to record the level of fluorescence on the bats’ wings.
Main tunnel into the mine. This photo was not taken in 2011. Since the discovery of WNS, the use of cameras in the mine has been limited.
John Gumbs and Mitzi Kaiura from Bat Research Center have pioneered a new research tool that uses UV light to visualize the tissue reaction caused by the fungus most likely causing WNS, Geomyces destructans (Gd), before other clinical signs are apparent. This research will expand biologists’ knowledge of the disease and the timeline associated with its impact on the hibernating population. You can read more about the Bat Research Center’s project and goals here.
To help John, we collected a small number of hibernating bats from the walls and roof of the main shaft. Each bat was plucked off the wall and placed into a small container with air holes. John set up a camera midway in the shaft. The collected bats were carried to the camera and gently laid on a cloth-covered black box, extending their wings to fill the camera’s viewfinder. Once the bat’s wing was positioned fully in the viewfinder, off went our headlights and on came the UV light which showed the bat in, no pun intended, a whole new light. Their teeth glowed in the UV light, their feet glowed likewise and their wings showed speckles, dapples or entire washes of fluorescence – possibly indicative of the progression of the disease. John hopes to develop a multi-year photo documentation of all phases of the Gd disease progression during hibernation and afterwards illustrate a link between this fluorescence and Gd.
Time flowed in a strange way inside the mine as we walked along the shaft examining clusters of hibernating bats and choosing some to be photographed. Time was told only by the cold seeping in through our boots or along our fingers. In the darkness, time seemed to be totally absent and the ever-encroaching cold was the trigger to send us up and out of the mine.
On finally emerging into a sunny Sunday, following the reverse maneuver through the opening in the gate, it was like departing one world – dark, damp, silent and cool – for another full of sound, light and color. Hikers passing by wearing shorts on this Indian summer day must have wondered at the winter-clad people emerging blinking into daylight!
A few things struck me about this adventure, not least of which is that I spend way too much time in the office. But the most important thing was the ingenuity and hard work of the people focused on protecting our bat population from extinction. John Gumbs, through his work, has developed photography methods to track the disease, engineered special tools to increase his efficiency and is now pioneering a method to cool bats into hibernation as a way to re-introduce them to their natural hibernacula, all on his own initiative and without any funding. We support John’s efforts and if you would like to also support his efforts or learn more about his work, please see our partner page.
The fight to save our bats from extinction continues in the cold, quiet darkness of Hibernia Mine and if passionate, innovative people like John Gumbs from Bat Research Center; Mick Valent from the state’s Endangered Species Program; Jackie Kashmer whose rehabilitation work we profiled recently; and Mackenzie Hall from Conserve Wildlife Foundation, are focused on this, we can hold out some hope for our precious and valuable bats.
Jackie Kashmer gives water to a bat inside a flight cage at the New Jersey Bat Sanctuary. Photo by M. Hall
Jackie Kashmer is a bat-saving machine. Surely, no mere mortal is fit for the long, painstaking hours she spends to make the tiny animals well again. But then, no machine could do it with the grace or heart. Let me introduce you to the New Jersey Bat Sanctuary.
For six years, Jackie has focused her wildlife rehabilitation practice on bats alone – a decision that’s given her a special understanding of what makes bats tick. And since all of her patients have similar basic needs, she can provide for them in a consistent and well-oiled way.
Inside the Bat Sanctuary are dark, warm rooms lined with nylon enclosures. The enclosures have a maternal touch, with patterned cloth drapes, cushiony hand-sewn pouches, and little hollowed logs – all for the bats to nuzzle in and feel safe. If you stand there with the lights on, the cages look still and empty, their furry occupants tucked away in the unlit spaces. You hear an occasional chirpy “pz-pz-pzzz.”
But it’s not all darkness and calm. White-nose Syndrome has changed the pace at the New Jersey Bat Sanctuary. Last winter, Morris County’s Hibernia Mine was down to fewer than 800 little brown bats (from roughly 27,000 three years ago). By late February, some bats were moving to the precarious “freeze zone” near the mouth of the cave – a sign that the White-nose fungus was taking hold. Not wanting to see any more bats die, Mick Valent (NJ Fish and Wildlife) called Jackie about helping the bats at Hibernia. Jackie said, “Bring me a hundred. If I can handle a hundred, then I’ll take more.” A couple weeks later she was boarding and feeding around 125 bats from Hibernia Mine – everyone from the freeze zone. Continue reading “A Sanctuary for NJ Bats”
Holding a big brown bat during a maternity colony survey. Photo by MacKenzie Hall
It’s hard to believe that it has been two months since the start of my internship with the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey. As a rising senior in college (when did that happen?), I can attest to the fact that time flies. Last December I contacted MacKenzie Hall, a Private Lands Biologist with the CWF and bat expert with a proposition. My college had provided me with a stipend after the completion of a long list of requirements for an unpaid internship. Being an avid wildlife lover, biology student and a resident of New Jersey, the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey seemed like the perfect fit. MacKenzie graciously agreed to take me under her [bat] wing.
On June 1, I jumped right into MacKenzie’s work with the bat population of New Jersey. I was quickly contacting volunteers, designing driving routes and delivering acoustic bat detectors. We were working on assessing the bat population of New Jersey with the use of five brand new acoustic bat detectors split amongst forty volunteers.
Kyle Whittle, a Boy Scout from West Milford, will earn his Eagle rank soon for a project that adds summer roosting habitat for forest bats. Dwindling habitat is a threat to NJ bats – even those that aren’t affected by White-nose Syndrome – and most of our 9 species need dead/dying trees with flaking bark to roost and raise their young. Artificial roosts can also be successful and long-lasting. Kyle chose to put his Eagle-eye on bats after hearing about our Indiana Bat Forestry Project through a family friend with several wooded acres to offer.
Last week I worked with Kyle and a group of his friends to mount bat roosts at the West Milford property, which sits on the edge of the Bearfort Mountains. We hiked up a steep hill of rhododendrons and hemlocks to the deeper part of the forest…a really enjoyable walk without the ladders, hammers, bundles of cedar shakes, asphalt paper, screw guns, and 15-lb bat houses!
The afternoon made good use of the teenagers’ energy, carpentry skills, and tree-climbing impulses. They put up four traditional bat houses, built earlier by Kyle, and a few tree “wraps” meant to resemble the loose bark of dead trees. We chose trees that get a lot of sun during the day; the owners will also do some girdling to open the canopy and create natural roosts.
Bats are starting to show up in their summer grounds again. Thanks, Kyle & crew, for rolling out the welcome mat!
Bat houses provide roosting and maternity sites in South Jersey
by Ben Wurst, Habitat Program Manager
Nicolas built 60 bat houses with materials that were donated to help NJ's bats. Image courtesy Dan Fuzer
New Jersey’s bats got some new maternity and roosting sites near Mt. Holly and the Rancocas Creek late last year. A Boy Scout, Nicolas Fuzer, chose to construct and install bat houses for his Eagle Scout Project after learning more about bats and the perils they face including White-nose syndrome. He hopes that by building and installing these houses NJ’s bats will not have a problem finding adequate areas to roost and reproduce.
Amazingly enough, Nicolas completed the construction of a total of 60 bat houses with the help of his fellow Scouts. He was planning on installing all of the bat houses, some with our help. But after realizing the daunting task of finding suitable habitat and installing all 60 of the bat houses, he decided to donate some to CWF. He installed 20 of houses in suitable habitat near the Rancocas Creek.
The donated bat houses will be installed in areas where we would like to enhance roosting habitat or maternity sites. There is a possibility for us to give away some bat houses to homeowners who 1) Have suitable habitat, i.e. a structure/building that has south/southwest exposure with full sun and at least a 15ft. drop and 2) would participate in our Summer Bat Count where volunteers count bats as they emerge from their roost sites at dusk. If you’re interested in obtaining a bat house from CWF, please contact me for more information.
Thank you Nicolas for all of your hard work and generous donation!!
Benefits of Bats
Nicholas installs a bat house as part of his Eagle Scout Project. Image courtesy Dan Fuzer
Bats have a reputation as being spooky or even dangerous, but they are actually some of the most beneficial animals to people. All of New Jersey’s bats are insectivores. They feed on night-flying insects, including the pesty mosquitoes. A single little brown bat can eat 3,000 mosquito-sized insects a night, and a colony of 150 big brown bats can eat enough cucumber beetles to save farmers almost a billion dollars annually in crop damages and pesticide costs. Without bats, we would be more dependent on toxic chemicals to control unwanted insects. Some garden pests even detect the sounds that bats make while feeding and will avoid areas where bats are present. In turn, guano (bat droppings) makes for a terrific garden fertilizer!
In other areas of the world, bats play a major role in pollinating flowers and dispersing seeds for plants such as bananas, avocados, cashews, and mangoes. By dispersing a wide variety of plant seeds over open areas, bats also help to restore the tropical rainforests following logging, fire, and other disturbances.
Many scientific advancements are owed to bats as well: navigational aids for the blind, blood-clot medication, artificial insemination techniques, low-temperature surgery on people, and military sonar have all been inspired by our night-flying friends.
