Bat Banding

 On May 17, Radford University biology professor Karen Francl, her graduate students, and Jane Rodrigue banded the big brown bats that reside on the side of our house.  That bat house has been on our house about 20 years and has bats every year except when white nose nosema was first detected in a local cave (the first incidence in Virginia).  It was vacant for two years and then occupied by the big brown bats.  Perhaps, it had little brown bats before because they have suffered the most from nosema (95% mortality) while big brown bats are mostly unaffected.

I took a few photos which the researchers are welcome to use for their presentations.  I found the close ups of the bats fascinating.    The colony is maternal with at least one baby bat which they called a pup.  I think there are several more now as I hear them in the bat house while the mothers are out foraging and drinking water at night.  The researchers plan to come back in July to measure and count the population again. They counted 15 but at least one went back up into the house.

 

Crocus Bees, Bats and Insect Mysteries

Honey Bee in Snow Crocus February 23, 2011

It is a chilly and rainy day in the Appalachians with temperatures in the 40s. Still, it has been unseasonably warm and dry. The rain is welcome as the fire danger has been very high with over 4000 wild fires reported in Virginia.

The honey bees have been foraging pollen in the past week. They get a little pollen from the few crocuses I have been blooming. From what I learned from local beekeepers, they are also foraging on willow and alder which generally grows near waterways--over a mile away.


Honey Bee on Yellow Crocus February 23, 2011

This yellow crocus bloomed yesterday while the snow crocuses pictured at the top have been blooming for a week. Now that I know bees like crocuses, I will buy a bunch next fall. I don't want them to have to fly a mile away to the willows if they can forage right near their hive.


Hive Inspection--journal entry
February 17, 2011

I inspected the beehive last Thursday (I noticed my journal date was wrong!)--first time since last fall. My main task was to see if they had enough winter stores of honey. They appeared to have plenty--many frames still uneaten. There was some pollen stores but since I have been seeing them bring in pollen, that might be alright. I did a varroa mite check--leaving the mite board in for a week and only saw a couple of mites so that's good. I did not see any signs of other problems like nosema. It's hard to estimate the number of bees but it's over 10,000. That should be alright if the queen has been laying eggs.

I did find the queen in the second box because she is still marked from my mentor last summer. She might have been laying eggs but I wasn't about to brush away bees to see. I carefully put that frame back into the box. I just lifted the bottom box (light probably no honey but with lots of bees) and put the whole hive back together.

Back at the house, I wrote notes in my journal right away. The journal page you see above is very different from what some beekeepers do. It is not super detailed but it has enough information for me. I also am very visual so drawing the hive components lets me put notes right where I found something to note. Doing my notes afterwards allows for a quick inspection, probably no more than 20 minutes.



Dutch iris bloomed yesterday for the first time. These little bulbs only last a few days but are appreciated because they bloom so early when a week of warm weather comes around.

Bat Mystery

As I was walking in the woods, I saw a bat fly very low from the direction of our house into the woods. This is way too early for bats to come out of hibernation. I have learned that the fungus (another nosema) that is killing the bats in the east makes them come early out of hibernation and the bats perish from starvation. I hope that bat I saw doesn't die.


Insect Mystery



What is this growth on this small American Beech tree?


It's about 5 inches long and papery with something inside. I think it is some type of pupae that is overwintering. Does anyone have any ideas?



My cat, Sophie, loves to walk in the woods with me where she can climb up as high as she can get.

With days like these, spring cannot be far behind!

Barred Owl Encounter

We had severe thunderstorms on Thursday night, receiving about 1 inch of rain. The skies began to clear last evening so I took a walk. As I walked up up a hill, I saw a large bird which flew to a tall poplar. I walked toward the top of the hill and turned around to look again at the poplar since I hadn't seen a bird fly off. As I scanned the tree, I saw the Barred Owl looking back at me.


Photo: May 9, 2008

The Barred Owl is the only owl in the United States that has dark eyes but this one's eyes appeared red because he was facing the sun I suppose.

I watched him for a long time. He only stopped staring when my cat climbed a tree. He then turned his head to watch the cat.


Photo: May 9, 2008

After a few minutes, a Scarlet Tanager flew into another yellow poplar tree. The owl turned its head almost 180 degrees to look at him. I was scared the owl might attack the beautiful bird but no, he did not. I had spotted a pair of male and female Scarlet Tanagers earlier in the week, feeding on the blooms of an oak tree. I was hoping I would see one again.


Photo: May 9, 2008

I went up the hill and then started down this old logging road which was lined with more Yellow Poplar Trees and a blooming dogwood in the distance. It is starting to look like summer already.

Coming back, I noticed the owl had left. I guess he was waiting for me to leave.


Photo: May 9, 2008

When I returned to the house, I noticed an Indigo Bunting below the feeders. I have seen these for a couple of weeks now.

To cap off a nice spring evening, I sat outside to watch the bats fly out of the bathouse which has been on the side of our house for almost 20 years. First, four flew out, then another three for a total of 7 --I think Big Brown Bats. We have had as many of 30 bats in there one summer (with moms and the babies). No matter how many times I watch, it still gives me a little thrill to see them fly overhead. And, I don't mind them eating all the mosquitoes!

The bedroom windows were open last night but I did not hear the Barred Owl as we sometimes do. I read that the Barred Owls mate for life and use the same nest every year. So, I will be looking for the nest which I hope is on our land.