I shall describe this without pictures of the bats, bear with me. For the month of July, I heard almost nothing of my petite friends. I got the occasional peep and rustle from the nest in my big upstairs studio/library. I sleep upstairs at the other end of the house where I used to hear Falco flying out the small opening at the apex of the roof. I had asked the rascal to move out and he did, but the nest remained.
Friday night I was wakened in the very early hours by a flurry of flutters and cheeps all around me! Nothing else matches the soft beat of bats on the wing. At least one perched on the ledge above and just behind the bed. That one uttered commanding chirps to the others that were landing on the curtain rods, the clothes poles and the rafters. One seemed to be herding the others.
Now my interpretation: The babes in the nest were ready to go out into the great night! Falco directed the exodus from on high and Mama tried leading them to the high exit. Since these bats usually have only one tyke at a time, there may have been more than one Mama and my studio is a ‘nursery colony’ in the making, oh my. Or maybe there were fewer than my sight-deprived, abruptly waken state made me think. It sounded like bat mayhem at 2 AM. Ever hear of herding cats? Try herding bats! I might have been able to get a photo or two, but any light, or worse a flash, would have frightened them and ruined the parents’ efforts.
They flew out and left me in peace, however many there were. I looked about the next morning and found no mess, no destruction. I heard nothing bat-like the rest of the weekend. The Little Brown Bat family has taken to the skies of the marvelous woodland that surrounds the cabin. Hurray and the best of luck to them!
How Would You Do It? 