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Halloween came early this year at the CATS Ancient Oak Trail when CATS Development Director, Derek Rogers, noticed a bat flying around the meadow area adjacent to the forest. It was actively feeding on insects and made a few close passes, allowing for some fun flight photographs.
This is an Eastern Red Bat, which is distinctive in appearance if seen well and has an obvious “golden retriever red” fur. They are a type of tree bat, so they mostly roost in trees, clinging to branches and swaying in the wind, therefore easily overlooked as a dead leaf.
We are approaching the northern extent of their summer range, therefore sightings this far north are less common. In fact, this is the first photo documented occurrence of the species in the Adirondack Park within the widely used iNaturalist citizen science database.
So keep your eyes peeled and camera ready whenever you’re hiking a CATS trail. You never know what you might come across while exploring the most biodiverse region of the Adirondack Park!
Interested in visiting the Ancient Oak Trail? It’s also a great birding location. You can check out some recent sightings here at the eBird.org.
2020 Grand Challenge
CATS is in the midst of its 2020 “Grand Challenge.” The genesis of the Challenge came from its popular Grand Hike, which took place annually and involved a fun, town-to-town hike with hundreds of people.
This year instead, participants are invited to hike one of the three challenge routes listed here and register online.
The Challenge runs until November 15. More details at https://www.champlainareatrails.com/2020-grand-challenge.
Photos and content courtesy of Derek Rogers/CATS
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Great picture! I don’t believe I have ever seen one. Love bats!