"Our" Bats Are Back

The group of little brown bats that visits us for several weeks each spring has returned. This is a hunting party of males, not a colony seeking a roost. We're pleased to see them and at the same time are concerned for them, because white nose syndrome has been discovered in Ohio this year. These fliers are very welcome, being voracious insect eaters, an especially valuable trait this year as the extremely wet spring (we are 9" above normal for the year) has led to an early crop of mosquitoes.

Our guests snooze during the day in the top corner of the underside of the deck stairs, a snug spot for them but a difficult one for me as photographer. Here they are.

Our notable milestones of spring (fauna, not flora) are the owls, chimney swifts, hummingbirds, and bats.