April has been a busy month for photos, since with the
start of spring comes flowers and birds.
My favorite photo for the month is from our Baturday event
in early April. This year we
invited other groups to attend the event.
One of the groups in attendance was the U,S. Forestry Service and Bat
World of the Ozarks, who had some local live bats, as well as a species from
the Southwestern US--the Pallid Bat.
This particular bat was found in Fenton, MO. I am not sure as to all of the details surrounding this bat,
but she was extremely cute.
The Pallid Bat, Antrozous pallidus, is a common species throughout the Western U.S.,
from the Southern coastal Canada to Mexico. The furthest concentration to the east is two small colonies
in northern Oklahoma and southern Kansas.
They species prefers arid regions and grassland
environments. They are mostly
known for their large ears, which are about half the size of their body, and
for their large eyes.
Pallid Bats eat crickets, beetles, centipedes, grasshoppers
and even scorpions. They are
actually immune to a scorpion’s sting.
Pallid Bats feed mainly on the ground. They grab their prey from the ground and then carry it to a
nearby perch to feed.
Pallid Bats weigh 0.7 to 1.2 ounces and have a wing span of
15-16 inches. They can eat half
their body weight a night.
If you want to learn more about bats join us next year as we
expand our event. Watch our
Facebook page and website for more information. Baturday is the first Saturday in April.
Submitted by Cathy Spahn, World Bird Sanctuary Naturalist
