Bats - White Nose Disease Question? (1 Viewer)

I saw a little brown bat that appeared to be hunting bugs in broad daylight at about 2M today. Location, base of the Smoky Mountains in North Carolina, near a river. Weather- sunny and about 60 degrees.
I have never seen a bat in the daytime before. Was this behavior indicative of the White Nose syndrome that is hitting cave bats?

Hi carjug,,

White nose would certainly be a suspicion, as there is unlikely to be much food in the air in mid February, even though 60 degrees might indicate warming..
The clear cut cases are bats hunting in January in NY and PA, just a death trip. The disease is still spreading and will eventually impact all of our bat population. It is similar to the fungal disease that has exterminated many frog species,
a new vector very possibly brought in by human researchers. No happy end is expected in either case.

etudiant said:

Hi carjug,,

White nose would certainly be a suspicion, as there is unlikely to be much food in the air in mid February, even though 60 degrees might indicate warming..
The clear cut cases are bats hunting in January in NY and PA, just a death trip. The disease is still spreading and will eventually impact all of our bat population. It is similar to the fungal disease that has exterminated many frog species,
a new vector very possibly brought in by human researchers. No happy end is expected in either case.

Click to expand...

In Augusta, Georgia yesterday I spotted a bat flying at twilight when the temperature was slightly under 60 degrees and there were no flying insects.

Uh oh! Maybe this thing has spread even farther than scientists realize.

What a disaster.

White Nose Disease Question

Hi, Birders,

It's not unusual for healthy bats to fly outside on a warm day. Hibernating bats typically rouse about every three weeks to groom, urinate, drink water. Some move to warmer areas of caves and mines to do this, so sensing a warm day may go for a fly. You won't see the fungus outdoors, as it doesn't thrive at warm temperatures, and disappears quickly. A lone flying bat or three isn't what we look for as signs a hibernaculum is infected. At a site like that, you'd see lots of bats at or near the entrance - many emaciated, dead bats, and predators would soon learn where to get an easy meal.

Glad to have you on board, WNS Liaison. There have been several bat/WNS questions in the bat section I had hoped someone with a lot of experience would see.