Blog Posts

Last month, Sarah and I had the opportunity to assist the Illinois Department of Natural Resources with a hibernaculum survey. Hibernacula surveys are performed with the goal of counting how many bats reside in the cave/mine, identifying species, and locating where they are within the cave/mine. We were both very […]

The Great Bat Count

22 April 2022 in Uncategorized by Brittany R

There is a common romanticism and nostalgia for classic biological fieldwork—it’s easy to conjure images of Jane Goodall in hiking boots and binoculars patiently crouching in the tall grass waiting for a glimpse into the private lives of wild animals. After a year cooped up inside, I feel called to […]

From Binoculars to Beakers: A genetic approach to surveying biodiversity

1 March 2021 in Blog Posts / Environmental DNA by JordynC

This year we had to be creative when it came to making outreach for IBCP fully virtual. One of the busiest times for outreach is during Bat Week and this year it was from October 24-31. We came up with new ways to celebrate still making Bat Week fun and […]

Bat Week At A Distance

18 November 2020 in Uncategorized by Brittany R

Bats do not use the same bat cave all year round! They have different resting places, called roosts, that they utilize throughout the season depending on their needs. Hibernaculum– A hibernaculum is where some species of bats hibernate through the winter. Hibernacula (plural of hibernaculum) are often caves, mines, or […]

Bats and where they call home

30 October 2020 in Uncategorized by Tara H

Fall is an important time of year for bats as their reproduction cycle begins! As temperatures begin to cool between August and October, bats swarm in the air; circling closely with each other in large groups, often near hibernacula sites. As they swarm, they assess potential partners, mate, and survey […]

Bat Reproduction

16 October 2020 in Uncategorized by Tara H

This field season has certainly been a strange one! COVID-19 postponed our field work a few months later than when we would normally start. For the safety of our crew, we decided to postpone mist netting until 2021. We were able to successfully complete our 20 acoustic GRTS (NaBat survey […]

Field Season 2020 Recap and Updates

13 October 2020 in Uncategorized by Tara H

Last week we sent out letters to landowners with the results of our 2018 acoustic surveys. It is a lot of work to put these together, but we want to make sure that our volunteer landowners know that we appreciate their participation in this program! If you do not receive […]

Ready for the 2019 field season!

30 April 2019 in Uncategorized by Tara H

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

26 September 2017 in Acoustic Monitoring / Blog Posts / Emergence Counts / Environmental DNA / Mist Netting / Radio Tracking / Roost Evaluations by Matt S

The Illinois Bat Conservation Program is officially back into the field season! We started getting out and collecting data in May but we haven’t had a chance to get the blog updated. Our graduate student Ash, and her assistants Brooke and Abby, have been working hard catching bats across the […]

2017 Field Season Kickoff!

15 June 2017 in Blog Posts by Tara H

Over the past month, tens of thousands of bats have migrated back to their summer ranges in Illinois. As spring temperatures increase and insect prey emerges, habitat in Illinois becomes more favorable for bats. At least six species of Illinois bats are known to migrate. Because cave-roosting bats have ready […]

Bat migration and mortality

29 April 2017 in Blog Posts / Migration by Matt S