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Bat house #7     (video clips available on this page)
Photos by John C., 2003 in Dickerson, MD.

ABOVE: Bat house #7 with 5 chambers I built using some great plans. It is over 3 ft tall, 2 1/2 ft wide, and the bottom entrances are only 8 ft above ground. This is just a temporary test location (50 ft from bat house #1) until a sunnier one near water can be found. Its base is bolted to 3 steel posts with protectors on them in case someone or something bumps into them. It took about 12 hours for me to build and mount and is quite heavy. The wood portion of the post assembly was already built. LEFT: 4 night vision camera photos of Bats approaching the Bat house and climbing up the entrance area before dawn. Bats landed on entrance 3-4 times that morning, but one may have entered 2x. Photos taken on the camera's first night of operation at that location.

ABOVE: Bat house #7 in new location on a non-commercial utility pole near a large pond. During parts of the day it doesn't get full sun which is not ideal. The entrance is over 10-11' above the ground. Bats have been seen in it on 2 occasions. 1 was in it the first time I checked it at this site. It is in the Poolesville area of Montgomery County, MD, on NIH's property. I am very grateful to NIH for allowing me to use their campus for this project.

Monitoring notes:
7/27/03 Within 2 just weeks, 2 Bats used it! (I can't get good photos of them...too dark)
    Even in 83F they huddle when clouds pass & separate when the sun is out.
7/29/03 Three Bats using the bat house (didn't check box on 7/28).
8/7/03 One or more Bats using it (1st time in over a week).
8/9/03 One or more Bats since 8/7. 2 Flying Squirrels visit it.
8/21/03 One or more Bats since 8/11.
9/3/03 Bat used it only 50% of days from 8/21 - 8/29. No Bats since 8/29, house removed in the fall.
3/04 Moved to a utility pole in Poolesville but no chance to monitor it in 2004.
6/30/05 One larger dark brown bat in it but I could not safely get photos of it.
7/1/05 Same large dark brown bat in it.