Hosts: Susan Loeb, Gary Peters (both USFS)
The 2006 SBDN-Blitz was held August 6-10, 2006 in the mountains of northwestern South Carolina and northeastern Georgia. The Blitz was sponsored by the Francis Marion National Forest, the Southern Research Station, the Chattahoochee National Forest, South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, and Georgia Department of Natural Resources.
Our home for the Blitz was Camp Chatuga in Mountain Rest, SC. We had 62 volunteers, 5 guests, and 3 members of the media participate in and observe the activities. Attendees came from 11 states across the South and represented 8 universities, 2 federal agencies, 5 state agencies, 3 private companies, 2 city agencies, 1 zoo, and 2 elementary schools.
Mist netting was conducted for 3 nights and 31 sites were surveyed. We captured 261 bats of 10 species: 1 Rafinesque’s big-eared bat, 36 big brown bats, 141 red bats, 1 hoary bat, 1 Seminole bat, 5 small-footed bats, 18 little brown bats, 34 northern long-eared bats, 2 evening bats, and 22 eastern pipistrelles. Because Rafinesque’s big-eared bats and small-footed bats are species of special concern in South Carolina and Georgia, their captures were of particular note. Further, we obtained only the second record of a Seminole bat on the Andrew Pickens District. Thus, valuable data on the status and distribution of bats of the area were collected.
We also hosted a “Kids Night at the Blitz”. Several children ranging from 3-12 years attended. Although we did not catch any bats that evening, the children were able to observe free flying bats and hear them with the bat detectors.
USFWS