We're Goin' on a Bat-Walk!

[LibraryLady]

Woo-Hoo!

We love bats. Hubby and I would love to put a bat-house outside our dining room window. Unfortunately, our co-op rules don't allow that.

We will be taking a twilight walk in Prospect Park to learn about and enjoy the company of bats. I'm really looking forward to that!

Years ago we spent a holiday in St. Eustasius. It was a strange place and the hotel was nestled right under a high cliff. On the first evening we were there, our group was enjoying drinks on the lawn when the cliff erupted.

"Ooh", one woman said, "What are these wonderful birds that fly out at sunset"

"They ain't birds. They're bats."

There are times when we don't enjoy bats. Last summer we attended a family reunion. The children were being put to bed and the adults were enjoying a glass of champagne in the dining room. It was a balmy night and we turned off the lights while we talked.

Suddenly, something swooped low over my head.

"Oh, those are the bats. They nest in the attic and come down when we turn the lights off."

I like bats very much. I just don't like them in enclosed spaces. Hubby and I were very happy that we were staying at a hotel instead of the family home. I did have to worry a bit about two infants sleeping in a house with bats flying around inside.

[lordlundar]

I don't think my sister shares your enthusiasm.

Well at least not after last weekend.

My sister went out to our familt's cabin last weekend for a little party and was outside one night listening to the bats, who were out hunting moths. Well, she turned the wrong way a got a little closer to the bats that she cared for.

Namely when said bat flapped it's wing right in her face.

Now she screams on sight of a mouse enough to give it a heart attack. Picture said mouse with wings and an inch away from her face. I'm surprised I didn't hear it from home.

[MaggieTheCat]

We used to get bats occasionally in my parents' home. We have a very high cathedral ceiling in the living room and if one happened to get in the house (happened maybe once every year or two) it would find a nice rafter corner to hang from and it'd be a pain to try and catch. My parents just had one last week. Freaks my mom out every time, she hates them. When I was a kid, I always got amused watching the bat swoop around the living room and my parents run around screaming.

A bat walk sounds like fun. They don't really bother me, but I've never been very close to one either, aside from the ones that were in the house...but they never got in my hair or face. I don't think anyone would like that!

[BookstoreEscapee]

I think bats are cute. Then again, the only one I've really seen up close was the dead baby bat my mom found in the backyard once when I was a kid. She used her little gardening trowel to scoop it into a bucket so she could dispose of it. Poor little thing.

[protege]

My grandmother once owned an 1860s farmhouse. Big rooms with high ceilings, and just enough room in the attic for many bats to hide! In fact, before my grandfather died, I got to watch the bats come out with him one night. Even at ground level, you could hear them come down the eaves (inside the attic), tumble through the hole under the gutter, and then see them flying out. There must have been well over 100 that night

Other bat hiding places...was the little gap between the porch and kitchen wall, the second story of the garage (they'd hang from the roof beams), and occasionally in the basement.

But, the best had to be watching one of the neighbors shit himself over bats. Seems he was helping my grandfather with the window shutters. No sooner did he move one...when he was surrounded by a *cloud* of pissed-off bats!

And yes, they did get into the house now and then. Usually, they'd come down from the attic at night. They'd spend hours just flying around the various rooms. Best way to remove them? Whack them with a tennis racket. All it does is stun them...enough that you can then wrap the bat up with a towel, and place him outside.

[iradney]

I LOVE bats!!! I would love to have one as a pet, but I think Hopper would try to eat it.