UW’s Biodiversity Institute to Host Seven Summer Bat Walks Around Wyoming

More Wyoming residents than ever will have an opportunity to view and hear multiple species of bats during seven free Summer Bat Walks hosted by the University of Wyoming's Biodiversity Institute.

"Some of these walks will be led by certified Wyoming naturalists who attended a Bat Walk training led by me, which is why we're able to offer so many this year," says Mason Lee, senior project coordinator of the Biodiversity Institute, who has led walks in previous summers. "This is an exciting way to spread bat walks to more communities in Wyoming, so that everybody gets to experience the joy of this nocturnal wildlife."

Locations, dates and times of bat walks are as follows:

Pinedale -- CCC Ponds, Monday, June 15, 8:30-10 p.m.

Cody -- Shoshone Riverway Trail and Boat Ramp, Thursday, June 18, 8:30-10 p.m.

Lander -- Sinks Canyon State Park, Sunday, June 28, 8-10 p.m.

Laramie -- LaBonte Park, Thursday, July 9, 8:30-10 p.m. This event is already full.

Sheridan -- South Park open space, Tuesday, July 21, 8:30-10 p.m. This has been the location for previous bat walks in Sheridan.

Laramie -- Curt Gowdy State Park, Wednesday, July 29, 8:30-10 p.m.

Casper -- Wyoming Game and Fish Department lower parking lot, Friday, Aug. 14, 8-9:30 p.m.

Lee says there is a possibility of adding two more Bat Walks as the summer progresses.

Bats are invaluable to Wyoming and to ecosystems around the world. All bats in Wyoming -- of which there are 18 species -- are insectivores, and they eat a lot of crop pests. It is estimated that, in the U.S., bats save farmers more than $3.7 billion each year in pest control, Lee says. Insectivorous bats help protect crops, including corn, cotton, potatoes and wheat.

During a bat walk, participants will take a slow stroll through a local park and learn about the bat species present in the area. Those leading the walks will use an acoustic device, known as an Echo Meter Touch, to detect the bat species that are calling nearby.

Most bats echolocate at a frequency that is too high for human ears. But the Echo Meter Touch "translates" their calls to a lower frequency that can be heard by people. For a recording of bats during a previous bat walk, go to https://vimeo.com/717518476.

"Our Echo Meter Touch picks up bat calls in the area, and the app translates those calls to a frequency that humans can hear," Lee says.

Bats also have chatter or social calls, which they emit when they're in bat boxes, which are artificial roosts. These chatter or social calls are at lower frequencies, which humans can sometimes hear, Lee says.

Walk participants may even have an opportunity to see a bat swoop by for a drink from nearby water sources.

During previous bat walks, big brown bats, hoary bats and little brown myotis were those most often seen, but other species have often been spotted as well, says Lee, who is a certified Bat Walk Ambassador through Bat Conservation International (BCI).

BCI is an international, nongovernmental organization working to conserve the world's bats and their habitats through conservation, research and education efforts. The Biodiversity Institute is the only certified Bat Walk Ambassador to offer this program in Wyoming. Bat Walks are designed to introduce communities to the amazing and beneficial flying mammals that live in their areas.

The Bat Walks are capped at 20 participants each.

"It's easier to see and hear all of the bats when we have these smaller groups," Lee says.

To register for a Summer Bat Walk, go to https://wyomingbiodiversity.org/index.php/outreach/bat-walks.

Local organizations that would like to host Bat Walks in their community this summer can email [email protected].

About the University of Wyoming Biodiversity Institute

The UW Biodiversity Institute fosters conservation of biodiversity through scientific discovery, creative dissemination, education and public engagement. In this setting, scientists, citizens, students and educators come together to share a wealth of perspectives on the study and appreciation of biodiversity -- from microbes to poetry and ecosystems to economics. Learn more at https://www.wyomingbiodiversity.org.