Wildlife biologists need help from volunteers who have bats in their barn or other outbuilding to conduct bat counts this summer. The effort is part of the New Hampshire Bat Counts Project to help monitor summer bat colonies in the Granite State. It’s easy to take part, and volunteers are asked to conduct at least one count in June and one count in July.
Structures like barns and church steeples often serve as summer homes for female bats and their young. In the face of white-nose syndrome, which has been causing significant declines in bat populations throughout the Northeast, monitoring these “maternity colonies” is more important than ever. New Hampshire Fish and Game and UNH Cooperative Extension are looking for landowners and homeowners who have bats on their property to help keep track of New Hampshire’s bats by conducting “emergence counts” at roost sites. Volunteers interested in learning more can visit the New Hampshire Bat Counts website at wildlife.state.nh.us/surveys/bats.html for information on conducting a count and submitting data.
There are two upcoming opportunities to learn more about the bat species found in New Hampshire, the threats leading to population declines, and how you can help conserve bats. Both events will include an overview of bats in New Hampshire and information on how to participate in the NH Bat Counts Project, which involves citizen science volunteers in helping to monitor summer bat colonies in New Hampshire.
- NH Bat Counts Training – May 24, 2023, 7-9pm – Fox State Forest, Hillsborough, NH. More information and register here: https://naturegroupie.org/experiences/nh-bat-counts-training-0.
- Bats of New Hampshire – June 13, 2023, 7-9pm – Squam Lakes Natural Science Center, Holderness, NH. More information and register here: https://naturegroupie.org/experiences/bats-new-hampshire.
If you have questions about these events or the NH Bat Counts Project, contact Haley Andreozzi at haley.andreozzi@unh.edu or (603) 862-5327.
The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department’s Nongame and Endangered Wildlife Program coordinates research on bats in New Hampshire. Learn more at https://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/nongame/bats-nh.html.