May 6th
Well a lot has transpired since the last update, we have finished trapping and torn down the traps. We did a post trapping count and there were still 830 bats in the tunnel, including 7 Indiana bats. (Winter PGC counts were around 2,000 with 25 or so sodalis) The last female (Female #2) we put a transmitter on has been a active little bugger and has cleared over 43 miles as the bat flies. Another week or two and we'll be in NJ. (Read sarcasm, but a little concern too, I don't really want to go to the NJ coast......)
Female #1's transmitter has died. (13.5 days or so with a 10 day transmitter) so that was a completely successful run. All day roosts located and a considerable piece of foraging/night activity monitored.
Male bat #1 is now at day 9 on a10 day transmitter all day roosts located and it has stayed in the same area for the last week.
Male bat #2 is headed east slowly, just kind of cruising along, foraging on the way, it's five or so mile out from the hibernacula now.
Female Bat #2 has been a pain in the rear. First it roosted on a property where we couldn't get a hold of the landowner till after it moved, then it jumped 15+ miles in one evening, (20+ total from hibernacula) then the next night it disappeared, resulting in a all night search (and a few hours the next day) before discovering it back at the original roost. Tonight it foraged for a half hour and disappeared, we'll check the roost tomorrow (5/6/00) and start a coordinated search if it's MIA.
(5/6/00) The fast flying female (say that five times fast) has given us the slip both of the last two nights, this time it covered about 25 miles in a single jump. (Recovered by 2pm the next day, despite the 25 mile leap.) It's roosting on the property of a absentee landowner, so we will not get a exact roost tree location, but it isn't giving us the shake (not yet anyway). It is now a bit over 43 miles from it's point of origin, and the habitat it's in doesn't look all that great to me (though I'm not a bat), so we are preparing for another mega jump tonight.On the bright side we have established a pattern with this last leap, today's search operated on three different premises (three different people searching) 1) the bat went back to the river - search pattern: follow river and search up the tributaries. 2) Make a line from hibernacula through first far away roost and beyond - search pattern: scan within 5 miles of line till bat found or it gets dark, bat should be close to line and 3) bat moved locally - search pattern: search the heck out of 5 miles surrounding the last known roost. Looks like option 2 is working, it's headed in about a straight line, but where is it going? 20+ days left on that transmitter..... A mildly alarming observation, transmitters come in at different frequencies over time, they shift a bit as they get older. This transmitter has shifted more than I like, I'm kind of hoping the bat has the antenna curled around on itself or something. We are still picking it up at long ranges (I think I first had it at 2 miles+) on the original frequency, but it's strongest .003 away from that..... (maybe my reciever is dying.... I'll check another one tonight.)
Our team is pretty well split up at this point, one team is keeping track of the two male close bats, while a majority of our manpower is trying to keep up with female #2. Luckily another jump or two and we will be operating out of Bat Managements home office, showers, stove, carpet!!!!!