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Bat house #5   (next to Bat house #6)
Photos by John C., 2003 in Dickerson, MD.

ABOVE: Bat house #5 was formerly a Bluebird house. I was suprised and shocked to find Bats in it in 2002 while it was still a Bluebird box. I have NO idea why Bats use this box, however, it is at the edge of a field and next to a stream and they like roosting in such areas. On June 29, 2003, it was retrofitted for use exclusively as a Bat house. The side entrance was blocked, a bottom entrance was added, and the inside of the door was made smooth by adding aluminum flashing to it. This flashing keeps bats away from the door, so they don't get hurt when the door is opened. (door was removed when left side photo was taken) On 7/20/2003 this safety precaution was proven to work...no bats were in the way of the in-swinging top of door. 1/8 plastic mesh from OBC (Organization for Bat Conservation) was attached to 1/2 of the inside for the bats to cling to.

LEFT: Bat house #5 with House Wren nest on 6/30/2005. All 4 Wren babies were found dead. There was no apparent reason why this happened. I cleaned out the house that day.

Monitoring notes:
7/20/03 7 or more Bats in box. They got in without a landing plate! (1st check since building it - the landing plate was added later that summer)
6/30/05 Unsuccessful House Wren nest found and removed.