For the last four years, we've had bats roosting at our cabin. They usually arrive in May and stay the summer. One of the first things I did when I returned to the cabin this week was to check one of their favourite roosting spots, under the metal roof of the propane shed. The space is pretty tiny, but I found a small Brown Bat had already moved in. It's probably a male, because the females usually group together to raise their young. And that's usually up under our cabin roof. It can get pretty noisy both at dusk and dawn when they wiggle in and out.

It was hard to get a picture, but here's the little guy under the roof of the propane shed. It's amazing he wants to be in such a confined space. I usually think of bats in large caves. It must also get extremely hot on a sunny day right up next to the metal.

From past experience, we know they will stay until September. That's how long it takes to raise their young and get fat on the local insect population before they fly off to their winter homes. I guess losing a little sleep is a small price to pay when you get to see nature up close and personal. Besides, they take care of a large part of our flying insect problems. Do you have any experiences with bats? I'd love to hear your stories. - Margy