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Time to Learn…About Bats!

Hi everyone! I hope you had a good week and are enjoying the new school year. While you are busy studying, please don’t forget about all the little bats that need our help and attention. Maybe you could write your first school paper on bats! While you’re at it, please don’t forget about Bat Fest Annandale next week. It’s going to be a lot of fun, so if you live near Annandale, please try to make it. For more information and to register for the 10th Annual Bat Fest Annandale, click here.

A Free-Tailed Bat in a Brown Bat World

Baturday News is a weekly blog written by Rachael, a 7th grade student and Save Lucy volunteer. Rachael’s interest in bats was sparked by the big brown bats that used the outside of her former home for a winter roost. Her family cheerfully hosted this wild colony for years. Hi Everyone! I thought it was time to give the bats a turn at blogging again. This time little Freda gave it a try. I hope you like her poetry. Don’t worry all you other bats. I don’t think you’re ugly! A Free-Tailed Bat in a Brown Bat World All alone. So far from home. From the south, did I roam?  Where is my mommy? There are strangers among me.  Some are quite odd. With no wings to fly, on two feet they trod.  Others are almost like me. But they are brown, tailless, and compared to me, so ugly.  At least the food here is good. I can eat mealworms. Maybe more than I should.  I’m healthier now. And the humans made a vow.  Find my home they endeavor. Or take care of me forever.  Will I be an education bat? I never even dreamed of that!

Good Bat News of the Week!

Baturday News is a weekly blog written by Rachael, a 7th grade student and Save Lucy volunteer. Rachael’s interest in bats was sparked by the big brown bats that used the outside of her former home for a winter roost. Her family cheerfully hosted this wild colony for years. Hi everyone! I am soooo happy! I read an article about a power company in Middlebury, VT that has some very special guests. Green Mountain Power said that a new little brown bat colony has moved into its hydro facility and they are going to let them stay. The building is more than 100 years old! The Vermont state biologists think that the colony moved in because the building is close to Otter Creek and is nice and warm inside. I bet the little brown bats are all probably really cute and really happy right now. Since WNS first appeared in Vermont, the little brown bat population has decreased by 90% so I am very glad that Green Mountain Power is letting the colony stay. I am also happy because little Freda the Brazilian Free Tailed bat is doing well, and so are all the other bats that Save Lucy is caring for. They still haven’t found Freda’s colony, but she’s growing well and seems happy with her new human friends. Bat Fest Arlington was a success last week. There is a cute picture on the Save Lucy Facebook page that shows the hungry big browns and reds waiting for their dinner after Bat Fest. Apparently the poor little critters had to eat a little later than usual. Don’t forget about Bat Fest Annandale on September 13! (Register here;enter code 3084867901– Ed.)

Update from the flight cage and other new locations

Baturday News is a weekly blog written by Rachael, a 7th grade student and Save Lucy volunteer. Rachael’s interest in bats was sparked by the big brown bats that used the outside of her former home for a winter roost. Her family cheerfully hosted this wild colony for years. Hi Everyone! I would like to report that the Brazilian Free Tailed Bat is growing up. She has finally grown some fur. Sadly, they haven’t been able to find her colony. She won’t be able to be released if they can’t find her home. The juvenile bats are enjoying their flight cage time. They love flying laps and have even learned to dive into the mealworm cups to get yummy treats. Then they fly around while they are chewing on them. It looks like they are all flying well and might be able to be released in about a week! Other news of the week is that I moved. I am going to miss my bats. My mom promised that I’ll be able to go back to my old house and check on them sometimes. I hope there are some new bats for me to meet here at the new house. I’m looking forward to finding them. For those of you who are reading this from Northern Virginia, Bat Fest Arlington is Saturday, August 16 (today) and Bat Fest Annandale is Saturday, September 13. I hope some of you can make it.  

Bats Gotta Drink

Baturday News is a weekly blog written by Rachael, a 7th grade student and Save Lucy volunteer. Rachael’s interest in bats was sparked by the big brown bats that use the outside of her home for a winter roost. Her family has cheerfully hosted this wild colony for years. Hi everyone! I just learned something really interesting. Did you know that young bats have to learn to drink while they are flying? The sad thing is that sometimes they miss and go into the water. Sometimes they try to drink water from swimming pools. I don’t really think that’s a good idea because they probably shouldn’t be drinking all the chlorine, but sometimes that’s all they can find. It’s really bad if they end up going into a swimming pool. If that happens, they usually can’t get out and they probably can’t swim very well. So if you work at a pool or own a pool yourself, you can help bats and contribute to science by being a part of the Bats and Pools Survey! If you find a wet bat please call Save Lucy or your closest bat rescue. (You can find local bat help with Bat World Sanctuary’s Locate a Rescuer page–Ed.)

News, news, news!!!

Baturday News is a weekly blog written by Rachael, a 7th grade student and Save Lucy volunteer. Rachael’s interest in bats was sparked by the big brown bats that use the outside of her home for a winter roost. Her family has cheerfully hosted this wild colony for years. Hi everyone! First, I want to report on how the little Brazilian Free Tailed bat pup is doing.  She is doing very well and is nice and healthy. In fact she’s gained 3 grams since she got here. The state bat biologist is going to visit the site where she was found and use bat detectors to try to determine where her colony is. I wish I could help. I think it would be a lot of fun to discover a new colony. If the bat biologist is reading this, I’d be a huge help and work for free! Save Lucy’s other news is that all the tiny babies that came in this June are doing very well and are now big fuzzy and very cute juveniles, who are eating a lot. There are 19 big browns and 5 red bats that are getting ready for release into the flight cage! Hopefully they will be released into the wild in the next few weeks. My last bit of news is that I went to the Richmond zoo this week and saw fruit bats. They were awesome! They are so much bigger than the bats I’m used to seeing! Some of them had little pups hanging onto them. It was adorable!

An unexpected arrival!

Baturday News is a weekly blog written by Rachael, a 7th grade student and Save Lucy volunteer. Rachael’s interest in bats was sparked by the big brown bats that use the outside of her home for a winter roost. Her family has cheerfully hosted this wild colony for years. Hi everyone! The people at Save Lucy are very excited right now. A new pup came in a few days ago. It’s a Brazilian Free Tailed bat pup. This kind of bat doesn’t usually live in Virginia. The people at Save Lucy are very excited to think that there might be a new bat species living here. The pup came in weighing 5.6 grams. She’s very tiny and very cute. She has an adorable tail! So far they haven’t found a Brazilian Free Tailed bat colony in the area. Hopefully they’ll be able to find on so that this little girl can be released into the wild when she is older. I’ll try to keep everyone posted on her condition. For now, here is a video of the little pup. Isn’t she cute?

Cuteness Abounds!

Hi everyone. I saw some pictures and thought they were adorable. I hope you like them, because I do. They are all so cute! Here they are. The second image is a digital painting by Art for Bats. The paintings are based on actual photos, and sales support bat rescue organizations.–Ed.