For the last several years, nectar bats have drained my hummingbird feeders at night from the end of August through mid-October. I usually leave two or three feeders up for them, then set out fresh feeders for the hummers in the early morning.
I don’t mind doing this, because the two species of nectar bats that work the Tucson valley, the Lesser Long-nosed Bat (Leptonycteris curasoae) and the Mexican Long-tongued Bat (Choeronycteris mexicana) are both imperiled. The “Choero” is threatened, while the “Lepto” is endangered. How could I deny either of them a little sugar water?
a
Lesser long-nosed bats (“Leptos”), photograph by Ted Fleming
Both species are important to our ecosystem, pollinating agaves and saguaros. Although I have yet to meet one in person, I’ve been assured that these bats, particularly the “lepto,” are very gentle. They are, as you can see above, amazing animals.
Last night, a very knowledgeable graduate student from Toronto set up a recording array on my back porch that will let him track the number of bats (and the species) during the night. 
The bats also communicate with each other, which is important since they come to the feeders in large groups. It’s not known what their calls mean, of course, but they are probably something on the order of “Coming in, now!” “Watch out!” “I’m next!”
Leptos feeding. Note the tiny droplets of nectar.
If you want to know more about these beautiful and important animals, check out the Marana Bat and Hummingbird Feeders Study. The stunning photos of Leptos in this post are by Ted Fleming, one of the coordinators of the Study.
Oh, all right, I'll let them keep drinking. I was just getting tired of filling the feeders every morning. Of course I figured they were good bats, but my laziness ruled in this case. I have seen them a couple of times fly around the area of the feeder, but of course no photos. I like that you have someone tracking your bats. A regular bat man. Cool.
ReplyDeleteOh, good. I was hoping the post would have that effect. My bat tracker has gone back to Toronto, but he got recordings for four nights. In previous years, I've had them videotaped in infrared by a different bat researcher. If you have a table out there, you can set a hummer feeder on it, and the bats can't drink but the hums still can, so you don't have to get up so early. (I just found that out this week.)
DeleteCool! How did you get involved in bat study?
ReplyDeleteI got interested in the phenomenon and researched it, and somehow that led me to research studies. I'm pretty lucky to be involved in studying bats and snakes at my age.
DeleteI have a correction to the above post: Ted Fleming informs me that the Leptos have been recategorized as Leptonycteris yerbabuenae, though the name change has not been totally accepted by all bat biologists.
ReplyDeleteGreat. Post and pictures. Sorry I am not there to go bating with you. We arrive back on October 1. S
ReplyDeleteThere might be more "batting" in October... I'll let you know!
DeleteI love this post! I grew up thinking bats were a bad thing. Then I was able to watch the bats leave Carlsbad Cavern en masse. One of the coolest, most beautiful things I've ever seen! Then once I learned even a little bit about bats my opinion completely changed.
ReplyDeleteGreat comment, Patrick! I had always been somewhat afraid of bats, but now I feel protective toward them, and caring. I may get to watch a bat "netting" later in the week, and if it happens will post about it.
Delete