Random pics tonight,
With all the rain in the evenings, there was no chance to catch some bats. Until one fine evening the skies cleared and we set out to see what bats might be flying around. It was, for the FCRE, a quiet night, with only four species found among the 17 bats caught. In the past, for comparison, I have had 14 bats in one net at the same time of five different species, which is crazy busy fun (but maybe somewhat too busy to be fun). The most common bat for the evening, was Seba's short-tailed bat (Carollia perspicillata.) There were also a couple Chestnut short-tailed bats (Carollia castanea) which I did not photograph. These bats eat fruit, and show it with that big, broad nose and big eyes (you have to see and smell ripe fruit). However, they will also eat insects and pollen, so like many such bats, they are a bit more omnivorous and less easily classified as to what they eat than a cookie-cutter "fruit bats." When not dealing with the Carollia masses, I found a few of the small Thomas's Fruit-eating bats (Artibeus watsoni) had arrived. These bats look quite different, but have a fairly similar feeding arrangement. Another difference is that Carollia like a good cave, tree hollow, or similar while A. watsoni prefers to roost under foliage. Next up is Pallas's long-tongued bat (Glossophaga soricina), It is a nectar bat, so somewhat like a hummingbird. It can hover in flight and use its long tongue to lap up nectar from deep inside flowers. But it is also to some extent a generalist, as it will eat fruit and insects. And I while did find these bats the next morning, I am including the photo here as relevant... A few more pics for funlllll. And for a big finish...
The FCRE is 150 acres, plus or minus, and it abuts the Hacienda Baru, which is a bit over 800 acres. Hacienda Baru is a nature lodge with cabins and a restaurant, and one day we went there for dinner (which was excellent). I spent a few minutes trolling around their gardens for things to take pictures of, and the results follow. You can find out more about the Hacienda Baru at:
http://www.haciendabaru.com/ |
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Keith Christenson Wildlife Biologist Archives
September 2021
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