1400 + bats! That’s a great number for the first bat count of the season. Every Friday this summer at dusk, meet at Our SPACE (AKA BEEPS HQ at the historic yellow schoolhouse on Beach Ave)
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Interested in building a bat box? BEEPS can help! Send them an email
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The Meadowlark Festival May 17 was a success! Some photos from the BEEPS Facebook pg:
…those bat stickers in the window? Designed by @lilacfoxarts 1/$10 or 2/$15.
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Sunday, May 19, BEEPS was set up at the Our SPACE building (the yellow schoolhouse across from Swim Bay – stop by before taking in the Peachland Classic Car Show!
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April 17 is International Bat Appreciation Day – this is from the BC Community Bat Program:
Worldwide, there are over 1400 species of bats. They are found on all continents except Antarctica and three-quarters of all bat species consume insects. In British Columbia, we have 15 species of bats and have acoustic records of 3 other species, outcompeting other Canadian provinces and territories in bat diversity! This is largely because of the wide range of ecosystems found in British Columbia: bats inhabit the desert and forests, the islands, lowlands and high elevation landscapes of BC.
All Canadian bats eat insects and invertebrates. The Little Brown Myotis, which is common in the Okanagan, ate 600 mosquitoes in one hour in a lab setting. We can only imagine the loads of mosquitoes this bat can consume over the summer. Another cool bat in the south Okanagan, the Pallid Bat, has evolved to eat scorpions and not be affected by their venom.
Bats are the only mammals that can fly like birds. They are agile and quick in their flight, easily navigating mountain ridges, waterways and even dense forests at night. While they don’t have feathers, their wings are made of elastic skin and spread between their fingers and down to their ankles, creating a membrane for a well-sustained flight.
Bats use echolocation and high-frequency calls not just to catch insects or move around but also to communicate and even sing! There is much to learn about what their songs say. A resident of the Okanagan Valley, the Spotted Bat, is the only species that we can hear echolocating. All other bats are more elusive as they echolocate in high frequencies above the hearing range of people.
Ten out of the 15 local bat species are listed as at-risk or endangered. Bats face a myriad of threats, one of which is the White-nose Syndrome(WNS), which is caused by a fungus that attacks bats during hibernation. The fungus was detected in BC in 2022, but we have not found any bats sick with WNS in BC yet. This disease does not affect pets or people but has killed millions of bats in North America.
Help us help bats:
Locally, the BC Community Bat Program conducts outreach, research and community engagement to share science-based information about bats, learn about local bats and protect them. Here is what you can do to help:
- Report any sightings of live or dead bats in your area on www.bcbats.ca.
- Sign up for bat counts during the summer and help collect information about how many bats are roosting in the Okanagan.
- Become a Bat Ambassador to be a bat champion in your community.
- Get involved and get your community certified as a Bat Friendly Community.
- Register your bat box at www.bcbats.ca.
- Visit bcbats.ca to find free resources, ask questions, read about different species and their life history, and find opportunities to contribute to the program.
- Donate to bcbats.ca to help us help bats.
The BC Community Bat Program Okanagan Region extends its gratitude to partners involved in bat conservation including the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation, Forest Enhancement Society of BC, the Habitat Stewardship Program, North Okanagan Conservation Fund, South Okanagan Conservation Fund, and the Province of BC.
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How many bags of bat guano were cleaned out of the schoolhouse attic in January? Two big ones! Here’s BEEPS president Rachel Truant after their annual cleanup and bat mortality study. Here’s some words sent in by BEEPS:
The Peachland Volunteer Fire Brigade was on hand January 22,2024 to provide access to the Peachland Historic School attic and collect the 2023 guano remaining from the departed hibernating bats that roost in the schoolhouse attic. McMaster University in Hamilton Ontario is, once again, requesting Peachland’s bat guano for their continued research on White Nose Syndrome. A portion of this guano will be shipped to Professor Jianping (JP) Xu, at the Biology Department, McMaster U.
BEEPS is looking for volunteers to fill director positions and other opportunities in communications, research, events and more. Contact Rachel for more info. And visit the BEEPS website!
From 2023..
How many bats counted so far this summer? 1,372 and counting! Thanks to BEEPS for this photo from a recent Friday night bat count.
Want to be part of the next bat count? Show up in front of the Peachland Visitor Centre downtown (5684 Beach Ave) starting at dusk. According to BEEPS, sharp eye are needed as they swoop out of the attic and skim the lake for insects! Just bring a lawn chair or blanket, and download a counting app on your phone!
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A reminder that mid-summer is usually the time of year you’ll see more bats. Here’s a press release from the BC Community Bat program:
“In July and August, pups are learning to fly, and their early efforts may land them in locations where they are more likely to come in contact with humans“, says Paula Rodriguez de la Vega, Okanagan coordinator with the Got Bats? BC Community Bat Program. As noticed in the last two years, heat and smoke may also cause bats to use unusual roost sites.
If you find a bat, alive or dead, remember to never touch it with your bare hands. Bats in BC are known to carry rabies at a low level; this is why it is important to avoid any contact.
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BEEPS in the Canada Day parade!
..before the fireworks that night, we were treated to a bat show on the lake at dusk…
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On April 9, a visitor spotted Peachland’s first bat of the season, in the yellow schoolhouse attic. According to the latest BEEPS newsletter, a guest at the visitor centre saw something on the live cam and asked what it way. Sure enough, it was a little bat.
“It’s wonderful to see them returning, and we will continue to monitor the camera feed closely to observe and record their numbers to share with other bat conservation groups.”
You can see the bats for yourself! Check out the camera at 5684 Beach Ave. Pick up a colouring sheet – there’s a new contest!
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On May 19, the annual Meadowlark Nature Festival is happening, and in Peachland, BEEPS is planning an evening of nature-led activities! From 6-7 pm kids can do a number of crafts at the Peachland Visitor Centre / historic schoolhouse before meeting at 7pm at Beach Ave and Todd Rd., under the Bat House interpretive sign. From there, take a walk with a local bat biologist and learn all about Okanagan bats! You can also make and distribute a wildflower seed bomb. This activity always sells out – $20 for adults, $5 for kids. You can register here.
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A happy ending to a story BEEPS brought to everyone’s attention: The District of Peachland has donated the plywood needed to help bats roosting in the schoolhouse attic. According to the latest BEEPS newsletter, a group of firefighters and other volunteers recently installed sheets of plywood, which will give the bats more traction up there, and provide a safer way to check on the bats and collect their guano!
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It was a sad sight when volunteers went into the historic yellow schoolhouse attic earlier this year. More than 100 dead bats – 123, actually, were found. Most were pups.
“Last year, it was 50 bats,” says BEEPS president Rachel Truant. She says for the past two years, the Bat Education and Ecological Protection Society has been keeping track of mortality rates during their annual guano cleanup in February.
From the BEEPS newsletter..
“We notice a lot of the bats get stuck in the fluffy white insulation that’s in the attic.”
She says the problem has gotten worse – about a third of the attic insulation is covered in plywood, and a temporary plastic solution is what killed many of the bats found in February.
BEEPS, being a non-profit, can’t afford the 50 or-so sheets of plywood needed to cover the insulation.
“We had a board meeting and one of our board members said ‘there’s so many people in Peachland who probably have so much plywood sitting around.’ Anything we can get is such a help.”
So, Rachel will be in the community centre parking lot this Friday, March 31 from 4-7 pm, and Saturday, April 1 from 10am to 1pm. She’s hoping people will drop off useable plywood pieces, so they can seal up that insulation.
Any questions, or want to help further? Give her a call at (250) 215-8359.
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