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Project Noah Nature School
Lasiurus borealis
Small bat, re-identified as probably a Red Bat (Lasiurus borealis). Light-tipped fur, small round ears, coloration blended with dead leaves where it was found.
Mostly wooded nature preserve, near a building and shrubby area.
Was found in a leaf pile. Poor thing must have been in the edge and was tumbled out by leaf blower clean-up. It looked stunned but alive and moving, so we put it in a sheltered spot, and it was gone by late evening.
I will add that this species of bat is commonly found under leaf litter during the late fall / winter (ambient temperature >50 F). For a scientific abstract of a paper explaining this follow this link: http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.2193/20...
PS.....FYI.... Thanks for rescuing the little fellow! For future reference, it generally isn't a good idea to pick up a "downed" bat with bare hands. A grounded bat could possibly be a seriously sick bat. Such as rabies. (I hate saying that, since bats get blamed unfairly for too many things like that....) If you must move a bat, ALWAYS use heavy leather work gloves..... just in case.
:) KP
Glad to have helped. Bats can be tricky, but this species is one of the easiest to ID, once you know what to look for. :) They are probably one of America's most beautiful bat species, with the red face and back and the two-tone wing membranes. (However my fave is still the Spotted Bat...). It's a fascinating one too, as it almost always gives birth to twins, among other reasons. They are frequently found hunting mosquitoes around street lights.
Thanks Karen. I called it Tri-colored because several were around the building all summer. But in looking closer & doing further research, Red Bat seems a better ID. That species has also been seen in the area.
I believe this is a Red Bat... From the coloring of the fur, and the darker wing membranes.
Spotted on Nov 30, 2012
Submitted on Mar 5, 2013
