The Flying Battista Sisters!

Mirabel (left), Stella (right).


There were many nights when I never thought I'd see what you're about to see. It was odd--the bats just sort of coasted along, taking baby steps, until bam! one fine night they were ready for release. And yet…each night there was a little improvement. Mirabel, always the logy flier, makes two circuits of the tent without landing. And then two and a half. And then three. Stella does four, each small step forward a fresh cause for celebration. I’d come in and tell Bill and the kids what the bats had done that night. 


This video was taken on The Big Night, May 13, when there was no question in my mind that these bats needed to be OUT and AWAY from this flight tent that had been their home for the last month. That they were wild things and they could take care of themselves perfectly well, no more coddling, no more dishes of mealworms. They were onto moths in the clear night sky now; they would be finding a roost with other bats. Maybe Mirabel would even be delivering her baby soon, if baby there be. And Stella? A mate would find her this fall and the cycle would begin all over again. I hoped that she wouldn't find her way into a heated house in February again, hoped that they'd both be good girls and not go spelunking in walls or roosting in backpacks. I hoped the weather would treat them right this coming winter, would lull them to sleep and keep them there, not send them out looking for moths on a 65-degree night when there were no moths to be had.


I hoped that they'd both live into their 30's and that I'd never see them again. Most of all, I thanked them for all they'd taught me. Through their example, I'd know how to treat any bats that came my way in the future, and by writing about it, I could teach others what to do and what NOT to do for these dear little waifs of the winter night.

You'll see Stella first and Mirabel second, prodded back into flight after having circled the tent for 15 minutes. And then you'll see Stella, the next morning, shocked that I'd woken her up. She and Mirabel were going into town for release!


Astute viewers will also note my bare fingers being used to prod Mirabel back into flight. Well, I can't operate the video camera with gloves on, can I? Rest assured that a. this is the first time I'd touched either of them with bare hands and b. they'd been in "quarantine" for more than 100 days (the recommended time is 41 days) and they were most certainly not rabid and c. it felt fantastic to finally touch those cool fine membranes and that impossibly soft moley fur.




Next: Where to put them??

Flight-training Bats

This is what a torpid bat (i.e. one who's been roosting at under 55 degrees) does when you pick it up. Unable to make a quick escape with her cold muscles and slow metabolism, she'll spread her wings and gape like an addled opossum, looking as big and fearsome as she can. Not many people want to mess with a bat who's doing that.  I am one exception.

I've been blogging since December 2005, which seems an eternity ago, and I've only just gotten moderately conversant with video. As in, I can point the camera, remember to shut my gob while it's rolling, and now I am beginning to have the faintest germ of knowledge of what to do with that video when I've got it uploaded to my Mac. Thank goodness for iMovie. However, I'm not home free, even when I've got it edited and put together. I still can't upload them to YouTube from home. Our $90/month Hughes.Net Internet connection is too slow, too fraught with interruptions, to allow that. Ah, rural life. So I have to dump the files on a flash drive and send them into work with Bill, and he uploads them to YouTube from there. Then  when they're done he emails me their YouTube URL and then, and only then, may I upload them to my blog. Needless to say, the disincentive to put videos on my blog is large.

 Floridacracker, who posts fabulous vids on his PureFlorida blog, is a great inspiration to me. I don't know how he does all he does, but I wanna be him when I grow up. So this post kicks off a little series of videos of the Battista Sisters, mostly as a way to show you how neat they are in motion, how fun they are to work with, how endearing their little smacky worm-smeared chops, razor-sharp teeth and pointed pink tongues can be.

Precious! once you get used to it. She's just trying to look scary since she can't wriggle, being too cold. Fabulous dentition, a classic insectivore with a point on every tooth.

This video was made a few days before the girls were ready for release. As you can see, Stella lands on the ground a couple of times, once even on my wrist like a tiny furry leatherwinged falcon. Bats who are ready for release really shouldn't land on the ground, but if they do, they should be able to take right off and gain altitude. Stella does this and I'm thrilled.

I'm posting this to show how I work the bats to get them flying. I  gently annoy them just enough to get them to take off several times in rapid succession. It took them a little while to get the "hang" of landing on the nylon mesh tent walls, but once they did they'd stick there like a tossed burr.

Enjoy the video, hard won though it may be. Bat rehabilitators: this bat is close to releasable, but not quite ready for prime-time. Too many ground ditchings. That'll improve.

ZICK ALERT:  Come see me and Bill and get your copy of The Bluebird Effect and Bill's brand-new The Young Birder's Guide to North America signed and personalized at Sugden Bookstore, 282 Front Street, Marietta, Ohio, Friday, June 8, from 4-9 pm as part of our beautiful town's fabulous Merchants and Artists Walk on summer Fridays. Free ice cream (and extraneous minutiae).