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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 23, 2015)
16 Wednesday,December23,2015The Nugget Newspaper,Sisters,Oregon Tales from a Sisters Naturalist by Jim Anderson The Nugget goes ‘batty’ At this point of my 87 years living on this beauti- fuloldEarthI’msousedto thephoneringingat11p.m., nothing surprises me any- more.Icanrememberwhen it rang at quarter to mid- night when my son Caleb was beginning to show his prowess and intense sense ofadventureduringhisearly driving years. I picked it upandasked,“Isthereany blood?” “No blood, dad,” Caleb responded, “but the front- end of the Volvo doesn’t looktoogood.” So,lastweekwhenitrang atabout11p.m.Ifeltpretty good, Caleb’s out of the Army,livingoverinSalem with his three young chil- drenandsweetwife,Kendra, andhisgreatenergyisspent working on remodeling his house. Suepickedupthephone thistime,andaftershesaid the usual hello, the caller identified himself, “This is Pete, and I found a bat in Jim’sofficebathroomsink, whatshouldIdo…?” Peteistheproofreaderat The Nugget,andtheJimhe wasreferringtoistheeditor, JimCornelius.Thebatwas better identified when Pete added, “It looks like a big brownbat.” I suggested he find a cardboardboxandplacethe batinsideandthenI’dcome innextmorning and take a gander.Ifitwasn’tsickand Icouldn’tidentifythefurry littleguest,I’dtakeittomy dear pal in Bend, wildlife biologist Tom Rodhouse, withwhomI’vecarriedout a great many bat-oriented projects. Thenextday I moseyed on down to The Nugget and took the bat in hand. It didn’t appear to be ill, it wasn’tamyotis,norwasit Townsend’s big-eared bat, all of whom I know pretty well,anditdidindeedlook likeabigbrownbat. Just to be sure, I drove into Bend to visit with Tom,andtheminutehesaw it, he said, “Oh, that’s an adult male big brown bat (Eptesicusfuscus).” Petehadhititrightonthe money. Said bat made a lot of complainingnoises,squeak- ingloudlywhenTompicked it up in his bat gloves. He pronounced it healthy, but said it looked hungry and dehydrated, and had (prob- ably) been awakened from itshibernationforsomerea- son.(Batsdowakeupdur- ing hibernation to defecate andbuildupoxygenintheir blood.) I was under the impres- sion most brown bats left SistersCountryforsouthern climes at the end of sum- mer, but Tom ensured me that several will remain in winter in Central Oregon, if they can find a suitable hibernaculum. Apparently thisone—andinallprob- ability,severalofitsrelatives andfriends—foundsucha placeintheatticoftheedi- tor’soffice. (Editor’s note: Insert your own joke here.) Then Tom went on to describe a small colony spendingwinterinhishome inBend,andhowpleasedhe wasfortheircompany. Bigbrownbatsare—like all of the North American bats — nocturnal, roosting summerdaysinhollowtrees, beneath loose tree bark, in the crevices of rocks, or in man-made structures such as attics, barns, old build- ings,undereaves,andinbat houses.Likeallourbats,big brownbatsnavigatethrough the night skies by use of echolocation, by producing ultrasonic sounds through the mouth, which also pin- pointsprey. Theyareexpertsatcatch- ingmanykindsofnight-fly- inginsectsincludingmoths, beetles and even wasps (including yellow jack- ets). The strange-looking JerusalemcricketofSisters Country (aka Child of the Earth)—thatsendsshivers downsomepeople’sspines whentheyseeone—isalso prey,buttheydon’teatthe heads. Bigbrownbatshibernate during the winter months, often in different locations from their summer roosts. Winter roosts tend to be caves and underground mines where temperatures remain stable, however, where a large majority of photo by Jim anderson NPS wildlife and bat biologist, Tom Rodhouse looking over an adult male big brown bat that dropped into The Nugget office. thesebatsspendthewinter isstillunknown.Thatsaid, we now know the attic of The Nuggetofficeisonewe didn’tknowof. Itneverfails!Everyone of those late-evening and early morning calls and texts always provides me withsomefacetofNatureI didn’tknow(orforgot)and enrichesmylife. Tom and I chin-wagged about the bat and we both decided it looked rather emaciatedandneededafew square meals and rehydra- tion.Well,myoldveterinar- ianpal,Dr.JeffCooneyhasa rehaboperationinBendand plentyofmealworms,sohe nowhasthebattofattenup. Whenthetimecomesfor thewanderingbattoreturn tothe“wild,”sotospeak,I’ll seeifthecrewatThe Nugget will have a positive atti- tude about their (apparent) smallcolonyofhibernating big brown bats above their officesandbepleasedtosee meplacetheirrenterbackin JimC’sattic. Or,Icouldtakeitoutto oneofthemanylavatubesin Bendthathasseveralcolo- niesofmyotisandbig-eared batssleepingawaythewin- ter,buttheymaynothavea positiveattitudeaboutabat thatdoesn’tspeaktheirlan- guage,orsnores... Best Wishes for a Wonderful Holiday and a Very Happy New Year. Year-round FIREWOOD SALES — Kindling — — From Our Farmers Family to Yours — — SISTERS FOREST PRODUCTS Call 541-588-6245 257 S. Pine St., #101 541-410-4509 SistersForestProducts.com www.farmersagent.com/jrybka Happy Wok Asian Food TAKE-OUT h e Episcopal Church of the Transfi guration invites you to attend 352 E. Hood Ave. Christmas Eve Services h ursday, December 24 4 p.m., Family Service and Holy Eucharist 9 p.m., Traditional Service with Holy Eucharist Childcare provided at both services. 68825 Brooks Camp Rd., off of Hwy. 242, in Sisters 541 549-7087 www.episcopalchurchsisters.org (across from Lutton’s) — Orders to go — Open 4 to 8 p.m. 541-549-9999 (closed Mondays) COME IN OR CALL AHEAD