Barrie’s first-ever bat walk ended in disappointment when participants failed to spot any of the flying mammals.
On Thursday evening, a group of 15 would-be bat-watchers arrived at the Dorian Parker Centre to learn about the much-maligned beasts and important role they play in the local ecosystem. The gathering was scheduled to coincide with Bat Week, an internationally recognized event designed to raise awareness about the importance of conservation efforts.
“Bats are widely misunderstood animals, so these sessions are really about myth-busting,” says park program coordinator Stephanie Wideman, organizer of the event. “They won’t get tangled in your hair. They won’t go after you for your blood — all conversations that are timely during the Halloween season.”
As prolific pollinators with enormous appetites for insects, Wideman says the flying mammals keep plant populations healthy and mosquito populations down. “This provides a specialized service to farmers. Some are able to eat as much as four times their body weight in insects each night.”
After the seminar, participants enjoyed a hands-on tutorial about the use of bat detectors — devices used to listen for the normally inaudible sounds bats make while navigating in the dark. Then, the group ventured out into the great outdoors in a vain effort to catch sight of their elusive quarry.
“They’re getting into hibernation mode but it was such a warm summer we thought we might still see a little activity,” she says. In a later email, she added that despite the lack of bats at the bat walk, “Good times were had by all.”
Ontario is home to eight bat species: the hoary bat, eastern red bat, silver-haired bat, big brown bat, tricolor bat, little brown myotis, northern long-eared myotis and eastern small-footed myotis. Unfortunately, the population of these species are in free fall, with some down more than 80 per cent since 2011.
“White-nose syndrome, caused by a fungus, has been very damaging to bats,” says Wideman. “It disrupts their hibernation, leading them to leave go outside early and die in the cold weather. It causes entire colonies to collapse.”
To protect local populations, Barrie has installed several artificial habitats, mail box-like shelters known as bat houses, in areas close to Lake Simcoe.
