SDRP - Did You Know?

The San Dieguito River Park
18372 Sycamore Creek Rd.
Escondido, CA 92025
Phone: (858) 674-2270
Fax: (858) 674-2280

The River Park has converted from a print-based distribution system to a web-based system. If you are interested in receiving e-mail notices when the quarterly activity schedule is posted to the website, and news of special events occurring in the Park, click above to send us an e-mail.

DID YOU KNOW?
by Shawna Anderson
Spring 2004

BAT BOXES

Do you know the following bat facts? Bats are mammals that can fly; about 22 species of bats exist in San Diego County; some live up to 30 years; they usually have only one offspring per year and females raise their young in special maternity colonies; they are not blind and have good night vision, but primarily depend on “echolocation” to see and find their food sources, this skill is so acute that bats can avoid obstacles no wider than a piece of thread and can distinguish between different kinds of insects; and bats can gobble up to 1,000 insects in one hour!

The San Dieguito River Park works to increase habitation of the park by wildlife. In that effort, Senior Ranger Todd Stepien has been working actively with several Eagle Scout troops building bat boxes. (Read more about the scout program here). The bat boxes provide both nighttime and daytime roosts. Bats feed at night and use nighttime roosts to rest and daytime roosts as more permanent homes. To date, River Park rangers have installed 49 bat boxes throughout the park. Because our bat boxes have been around for less than a year none are occupied so far, but will be soon we hope! It typically takes one to three years for bat boxes to be routinely used by bats.

Bats benefit our region greatly by pollination, seed-dispersal and insect control. Bats have a keen ability to detect the location and type of their main food source through echolocation. Echolocation is high frequency sound waves that are emitted through the bat’s mouth or nose, bounce off objects and return to the bat’s highly sensitive ears. You and a friend can experience a crude human version of echolocation by closing your eyes and asking your friend to make a noise (like ringing a bell or banging on something) and try to find their location as they move around. Imagine this skill so refined to differentiate between a moth and a mosquito and various obstacles while flying!

Please don’t ever touch a bat. Just like other mammals, they will bite if threatened or frightened. If you see an injured or sick bat, leave it alone or contact Project Wildlife for information on what to do. If you want to build your own bat box or home for other wildlife you can get specifications from the National Wildlife Federation’s Backyard Wildlife Habitat program at www.nwf.org under “Take Action”.

BAT BOXES (below)