My wife went out on the deck and started cranking the deck umbrella open - which is in the center of our deck table furniture.
AS she was opening the umbrella, as is typical this time of year, a bunch of wasps flew out....but then, she hollered for me and said, "What is THAT shadow I see on the other side of the umbrella??!!"
I slowly walked around the umbrella and saw THIS clinging to the fabric of the umbrella...it had been hidden in the dark folds of the closed umbrella...
I captured two quick shots of it, and then went to get my telephoto lens so I could get some good head shots from a distance...but by the time I got back...my wife said it flew away.
Proof I have 'bats in the belfrey!' LOL
[ September 06, 2008, 05:22 PM: Message edited by: Todd Gill ]
Posted by jake snow (Member # 5889) on :
should picked it up and kept for Halloween Todd..
Bat on a string is very entertaining
Posted by Rene Giroux (Member # 4980) on :
You are blessed if you have those around your house. Make a bat-house and start a colony. They are harmless to humans and they eat their weight in insects (mosquitoes) every day !
Nice pic...
Posted by Sam Staffan (Member # 4552) on :
Todd, I have a corner up at our cabin that always had a bat or two hanging around and always leaving a good pile on the porch.
Now we have a small owl that sits up under the porch ledge and no more bats.
But that darn thing craps worse than the Bats did.
I can't win.
Maybe when the bats are gone he will leave too!
Posted by Wayne Webb (Member # 1124) on :
They are essentially harmless, but they can carry rabies. Be careful about getting too close. If it feels threatened, it could bite. Good photo.
[ September 06, 2008, 07:13 PM: Message edited by: Wayne Webb ]
Posted by Sheila Ferrell (Member # 3741) on :
Gee. . . it's amazing how many bat puns come to mind everytime these little ordinary, everyday, situations arise . . .
Batter up . . .
Battin 1000
Bat Masterson
Batman
Batter, batter, SWING
and by the way . . .what an unusually ugly creature . . . a rodent with wings . . . ACK.
Posted by Sam Staffan (Member # 4552) on :
quote:Originally posted by Sheila Ferrell: [ . . .what an unusually ugly creature . . . a rodent with wings . . . ACK. [/QB]
Ah yes and sometimes even a Cape. . Posted by Dave Grundy (Member # 103) on :
I think bats are interesting and very useful creatures.
I don't object to their appearance, in fact I find them kinda cute. Just like the picture Todd posted. Sorta like a mouse with wings. But when up close and with their mouths' open the teeth are kinda scary. And they do or can carry some serious diseases.
A few little known facts about bats...
They do not like tennis racquets(rackets)!! While flying around inside a room, if they come into contact with a well swung tennis racquet, the bat will ALWAYS lose the match.
If a bat appears dead after coming in contact with a tennis racquet and gets escorted out the back door, it will recover and re-enter the room for a re-match.
Do not count on expecting your average house cat to devour a stunned bat after you have beat it at tennis and served it up on a racquet out the back door. Cats do not like bats any more that the average human.
Bats that have been beaten at tennis usually appreciate a civil "burial at sea". Flushing the toilet usually serves the purpose.
These helpful tips were not copy/pasted from anywhere. They are offered from personal experience.
Posted by old paint (Member # 549) on :
wayne that only VAMPIRES THAT BITE))))))))
Posted by Anne McDonald (Member # 6842) on :
Awwww I think he's cute. I like pretty much any animal. The only exceptions are Hyenas and Komodo dragons. I'm not expecting either of those to turn up in my yard so i'm feeling safe Posted by Mike Pipes (Member # 1573) on :
We have tons of bats here, they actually hang around the grocery stores because the lights in the parking lots attract all kinds of bugs, making for a great bat buffet.
They also like hanging underneath the arches of the London Bridge and because of the shape of the arches, you can actually hear the clicks they use for sonar. Some day I'm going to drag a strobe light down there and get some photos in-flight.
Posted by Darcy Baker (Member # 8262) on :
Mike, that would be a good trivia question... Where is the London Bridge? I'd love to see the pics when you take them....hear you have mad skills as a photographer.
Posted by Bill Davidson (Member # 531) on :
Not bats, but a funny bird story. After living here in Oz for a couple of years, Annie and I were back in San Francisco, driving on one of the elevated freeways. In a cage, in a window was a Sulfur Created Cockatoo. What's funny about this? Here near Botany Bay, Sydney, they are all over the place, like sparrows. They swoop across the streets, graze along the roads edge, fly through the golf courses and screech all day long. They tear up the grass, eat all the berries off trees, and are generally a pest. Go figure. Then there's the Kookaburra, that's another story.
Posted by Dave Sherby (Member # 698) on :
I always wondered why if bats eat mosquitoes, why they need such big teeth?
Posted by Kelly Thorson (Member # 2958) on :
I heard an interesting report regarding bats on the radio a couple days back. For a few years now there have been concerns with the amount of bats found dead near wind turbines. A first it was thought that the deaths were all caused by the bats flying into the spinning blades, but in many of the bodies there were no signs of any injury. The report said they have figured out that the bats lungs are collapsing because of the slight reduction in air pressure around the turbines. They still don't know what draws the bats to the turbines.
Posted by Russ McMullin (Member # 5617) on :
I like watching bats flutter around silently at night. They aren't the cutest animal in the world, but they have an important job.
Posted by Mike Pipes (Member # 1573) on :
Here's a site with infrared video of bats investigating turbines and getting hit by the blades:
quote:Originally posted by old paint: wayne that only VAMPIRES THAT BITE))))))))
You been watching too many dracula movies, Joe.
"Most of the recent human rabies cases in the United States have been caused by rabies virus from bats." http://www.cdc.gov/RABIES/bats.html Posted by old paint (Member # 549) on :
1st off IWAS BEIN FUNNY)))))))))wayne.........how many people are bitten by a bat....A YEAR???? i think there are more bitten BY SHARKS)))))))))))))if you get bite by a bat....YOU DESERVE IT, they just dont swoop down and tangle themself in your hair(you have no worry bout that)and the BITE THE HECK OUT THAT PERSON)))) RABIES, are flea tranfered......RACOONS, FOX, RABBIT, POSSUM to dogs, cats........
[ September 08, 2008, 12:17 AM: Message edited by: old paint ]
Posted by Donna in BC (Member # 130) on :
Cool pic Todd.
At the campsite Cody and I frequent, it's very common to see groups of bats fluttering in the dusk sky. If you 'exaggerate clap' several times in a row, they arrive in droves and get a little to close for comfort. Shudder.. but still facinating all the same.
Posted by Bill Modzel (Member # 22) on :
Todd, the same thing happened to me last week. I opened my garage door and plop, something fell to the ground. I had my leather riding gloves on so I picked up the little bugger and called my wife and daughter to take a look. It gave a few squeaks for us all and than I set in on my kayak rack. It took off in a few seconds and did three laps around the back yard and back into the garage. Haven't seen it since. Of course, there's a lot of stuff in my garage that I haven't seen in a long time. Posted by David Harding (Member # 108) on :
Todd's gone from bats in the balcony to bats in the belfry.
Posted by Todd Gill (Member # 2569) on :
David - that would be brats in the balcony to bats in the belfry. Hehehe.
Posted by David Harding (Member # 108) on :
OK, Todd--you got me on that one!
Posted by Dana Bowers (Member # 780) on :
I got two seconds to pop in here...
"RABIES, are flea tranfered......RACOONS, FOX, RABBIT, POSSUM to dogs, cats"
OMG OP... are you kidding me??? I sure hope you are joking about this.
Rabies has NOTHING AT ALL to do with fleas!!!!!
Rabies is transmitted through saliva. With either a bite, or even through an open wound, or a scratch. The closer the bite is to the brain, the less time you have to be treated before it becomes fatal.
A man died not far from us in MN, from a bat bite.
He never even realized he was bitten, either, and by the time they figured out what it was, he was too far along and died.
Bats are NOT to be messed with. If you find a bat, DO NOT GO NEAR IT AT ALL. If you have a bat in the house, and you have pets CONTACT YOUR VET!!! They will probably want you to come in immediately to give the pets a booster rabies vaccine even if they are currently up to date.
Same with contact with raccons and such (rabbits are not a problem). Contact the local health department if there is any contact.
Many people are concerned about squirrels and smaller rodents, but their metabolisms are too fast, and die of the infection before they can become infectious to others.
PLEASE don't mess with anything having to do with Rabies!!
Posted by Nikki Goral (Member # 7844) on :
Funny you say that Dana. A lady here woke up with scratch marks on her face. She flopped the bedcovers open and the bat was in bed with her (which makes you wonder what else gets into homes).
She screamed, her husband clocked the thing; killed it, called the police (??) (and not the rescue squad) and guess what? He is being charged with animal abuse! Apparently you are not allowed to kill a bat.
Even though it can kill you!
Posted by Dave Grundy (Member # 103) on :
WOW Nikki...There is something wrong when you can't kill a wild animal that could potentially be a rabies carrier, even if it has entered your own home uninvited. AND get charged with cruelty to an animal???
Last I heard, bats were not on any "endangered species" list?
What next? You can't put out mouse/rat poison or set mousetraps???
Let the tree hugging, animal rights activists spend a week, in a house in the country, where there can be mice, rats, racoons, groundhogs, skunks, foxes and even bats hanging around!!!
Let them pet them and hug them. Let them look at their droppings. Let them watch the carefully tended garden disappear while their beloved wild animal freinds gorge themselves.
Let them watch their personal pet cat or dog develop rabies from a chance encounter with their wonderful wild animal friends.
I am not a hunter, only ocassionally go fishing, I like to think that I am environmentally friendly and I dont approve of the wholesale slaughter of certain species.
BUT killing a bat in your wifes bed....gimme a break!
(off the soapbox)
Posted by Nikki Goral (Member # 7844) on :
The other thing with bats is that their feces and urine is highly corrosive! My uncle had some in his workshop and couldn't figure out what had discolored his tools until he had a chemist friend test the liquids. Bat guano pitted his tools and equipment!
Haven't heard any more about the charges against the dude that whacked the bat. The "animal cruelty" people were really concerned that this could lead to an "epidemic of people planting bats in their home in order to rid areas of the species and using self defense as their motive."
They never had a followup on the wife's condition either, just the bat's.
It's kind of like seagulls. Can't kill them no matter what they do to you, even though they are the furthest things from being endangered species. We call them rats with wings here. So some people just give them alka seltzer and they blow up. Yeah, that's more humane than shooting them....
Posted by Kelly Thorson (Member # 2958) on :
When I was a kid in India our neighbours dogs got rabies and because we played with them and they were always goobering all over us, we had to have rabies shots. I think it was supposed to be 11 shots in the belly and I got to something like 7 and got chicken pox, so they discontinued them and I had to start all over after I was better. I don't ever want to do that again, although I understand they are down to 5 in the thigh now.
Posted by Bobbie Rochow (Member # 3341) on :
Wow Kelly, you lived in India? Fascinating!
I LOVE bats!!!! When I was a teen, we had our room in the attic, & if we left the closet door open, sometimes they would come in. I would leave it open just to scare my sister! Once I found a baby one, it had lice all over it.
Years ago, in Ranger Rick, there was a story of a boy with pet bats, & they called him the Bat Boy, Never said anything about rabies tho.
Posted by David Harding (Member # 108) on :
quote:The "animal cruelty" people were really concerned that this could lead to an "epidemic of people planting bats in their home in order to rid areas of the species and using self defense as their motive."
I love all kinds of critters but I think the animal cruelty people are way over the line and off the wall here. The average redneck isn't going to think of something that elaborate, he's just going to get rid of the problem and not tell anyone... at least until he's had a few beers.
Posted by Dave Grundy (Member # 103) on :
David..I ain't a redneck..(well,I have been known to hang around with folks from Arkansas!!and they are some of the nicest folks I know)
Next time I kill a bat or a rodent I will keep my mouth shut. No public statements. I'll just PM ya about my latest KILL!!! LOL
![[Cool]](cool.gif)
![[Razz]](tongue.gif)
![[Rolling On The Floor]](graemlins/rolf.gif)
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
![[I Don t Know]](graemlins/dunno.gif)