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Crow’s Nest: New bat box

October 21, 2018

By Daniel Barringer, Preserve Manager.

Photo: Daniel Barringer

The double bat boxes we mounted on this pole almost exactly 11 years ago finally rotted out this summer and needed to be replaced. We chose a durable design from Bat Conservation & Management that is approved by Bat Conservation International. It faces south across the “flat field” (you know, the only flat land at Crow’s Nest) and has a dark color and vents to keep a gradient of warmth across the box.

Here are two views of it: above, a bat-height view and below, what you’ll see as you walk up the trail from the Creek Trail toward Piersol Road. The tin flashing on the pole is to discourage predators from climbing the pole. The post is also a trail marker where the mowed trail bends as it heads up the hill past our brush pile to the driveway where the trail meets Piersol Road.

We hope you enjoy seeing it as much as the bats! The original boxes were mounted while the pole was still on the ground; replacement required extra help. Special thanks to Luke DiBerardinis for operating the lift and helping me hang it plumb.

Photo: Daniel Barringer