Brownie the Little Brown Bat
|
The bat that spent Winter 2002 with us
 During the winter of 2002 - 2003 we had an unexpected boarder. He arrived in early November and spent a week or two with us. Then we had a warm spell and he left for a few days. We actually saw him flying around the back yard then. When the weather turned off cool again he came back, and this time he stayed until early March. Brownie is a Little Brown Bat, and he is little. You can see that he is hanging onto a brick wall, and the width of the cement is about one third the length of Brownie's body. If he would scoot over to one of the vertical grooves he would probably fit down in it, but for some reason he liked this particular spot. He would move ever so slightly back and forth over time, but never more than an inch from the spot he is in here. At first he would watch us as we came and went during the day. For some reason he picked a spot about three feet from the door that opens onto the carport. When he would hear the door opening sometimes he would look up and watch us go get in the car. After a while I guess he figured out that we were not a threat and he didn't pay us any attention after that. It also got colder and I guess he went into a deeper hibernation. |
 According
to the bat books that I checked, Little Brown Bats aren't supposed to hibernate
in exposed places where the temperature gets below freezing. Not to argue with
the books and people that know, but Brownie spent the winter on an open carport
and we had temperatures down into the single digits a few times. We had two bad
ice storms, and a couple of snows. The wall he is hanging on is the outside wall
of an unheated utility room. I didn't want to disturb him by putting a
thermometer up there with him, but I know there were many days when it didn't
get above freezing, and at night was in the mid to low teens. This picture
is from directly beneath Brownie looking up toward the ceiling. You can see that
he is about as long as half a brick height. You can make out his eyes just
barely, the little dark spots just to the inside of his ears. I guess he was
about 1 1/2 to 2 inches long. Not very big at all, and easy to overlook hanging
up against the bricks like he was. Of course we had to show every one that came
over that winter that we had a bat spending the winter with us. Since Little
Brown Bats usually go back to the same place to hibernate every winter, we are
hoping that Brownie will return this November. Only time will tell, but his spot
is open and waiting for him |