Rochelle, Jeff and I  headed out to Moses Coulee to catch bats in the shrub-steppe. The primary goal of this trip was to be guest researchers for an Urban Conservation course through the Doris Duke Conservation Scholars program. We took the students out mist-netting and showed them what it was like to be a real bat researcher. Even though time was limited, we had success the first night out! We caught two amazing species, the Canyon bat (Parastrellus hesperus) and the Townsend’s big-eared bat (Corynorhinus townsendii). This group of students was extremely interested in many aspects of bat research: from managing museum collections, to emerging research and basic biology of bats.  

This excursion also allowed us to set up some of our new equipment, a triple high mist-net that Rochelle and I lovingly named “Monster”. We ventured out for a second night of mist-netting, “Monster” in hand,  with the optimistic hope of catching a Spotted bat (Euderma maculatum). We did not succeed in netting a spotted bat, but we did catch a Pallid bat (Antrozous pallidus) which was also very exciting! Overall this was a successful trip for us to see the diversity of species in a different part of the state and to help spread awareness about bat ecology, conservation and research.

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