hey little bat!

My husband and I visited the bats once again last Friday night. We arrived a bit late - the "vortex" was there, but I think the majority of bats had already emerged, so it wasn't quite as spectacular as the time we went a couple of months ago (didn't post anything on that). During that time, we did observe an incredible vortex of bats and a tremendous, steady stream of them as they emerged from the vortex. It really was an amazing sight to behold! Here are some shots of the surrounding scenery, the dandelion fountain, and the bridge... "The Waugh Bridge Bat Colony" (hlb 5-2-10) "Waugh Bridge Bat Colony Pontoon Boat Tour" (hlb 6-15-09) Buffalo Bayou's Waugh Bridge Bat Colony The Waugh Bat Monitor

WNS fungus on the nose of a little brown bat photo courtesy of Ryan von Linden, NY Dept of Environmental Conservation Since my first post on White-Nose Syndrome , three more species and several more US states have been affected. First detected in February 2006 in New York state, the then-unidentified disease spread to Vermont, Massachusetts, and Connecticut by Spring 2008. In Spring 2009, it spread to New Hampshire, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania and then south into Virginia and West Virginia. (There was even one case confirmed in France in December 2009 - a bat tested positive for the WNS fungus but showed no symptoms.) In February/March 2010, it spread out into Tennessee, Maryland, and Ontario, and in April/May 2010, the fungus was confirmed on bats in Delaware, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Québec. This brings the total to 14 US states and 2 Canadian provinces. The rate that it is spreading is quite alarming - it was thought that once it hit the more southern latitudes or more northern lati...