I did my second summer bat count for the state's Endangered and Non-Game Species program recently.

  I counted 50 bats, large and small, emerging from under the roof-line of my neighbor's house. Earlier this summer, I had counted 39 bats.

   The trick to counting is to count them only as they fly out for the night. Otherwise, you could easily count the same bat twice.

    They don't live in the attic, just under the wood trim, and she is nice enough to let them stay there.

   The goal, however, is for them to move across the driveway to my nice new bat houses (top).

   I am told by bat experts that this won't happen until next spring at the earliest.

   I can't wait. Bats are a vital part of the food chain, eating thousands of insects, and bat residences near places like the Celery Farm are ideal.

   I am a little jealous that my neighbor has bats and I don't.

   During the recent  count, I kept an eye on the new boxes but saw no bats leaving. I also aimed my camera up one of the boxes' baffles (below), and they were clean as a whistle.

No tenants yet, as expected.

   I did do a four-second video of a bat leaving next door, linked here. You can see the bat leaving from under the trim on the left side.

   Just don't blink. Trying to count these guys is the challenge and fun of bat counting.

Download MVI_3037.avi