Mist Netting



Small reddish brown bat being held.
The beginning of September marked the end of the field season for the Illinois Bat Conservation Program (IBCP) as we finished work at our final, northern-most field site.  As fall begins, Illinois bat species begin to prepare for winter migration and/or hibernation and their activity patterns, habitat use, and presence […]

End of Season Update


After field work in the north and central parts of Illinois, we recently spent two nights mist netting at Paul Wightman Subterranean Nature Preserve, in southwestern Illinois (Monroe County).  A patchwork of forest fragments, restored prairie, and ponds, this property is also the site of the IBCP’s first capture of […]

Indiana bats at Paul Wightman Subterranean Nature Preserve



We have recently completed netting at our second site, in the Embarras River Bottoms State Habitat Area near Lawrenceville, Illinois. After two nights of mist netting, we captured five bats of three different species – the big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus), red bat (Lasiurus borealis), and tri-colored bat (Perimyotis subflavus). […]

Summer mist-netting on the lower Embarras River


The IBCP has finished work at our first mist-netting site, in the southern portion of Kickapoo State Park (Vermilion County, Illinois). Mist-netting is a term used for the method of capturing bats using a large net made up of very fine threads.  These nets have to be extremely inconspicuous because […]

Mist-netting at Kickapoo State Park