2019 SBDN Bat Blitz Summary

During the first week in June bat biologists and enthusiasts from across the Southeast gathered on the Albemarle Pen-
insula in eastern NC for the 2019 SBDN Bat Blitz. North Carolina last hosted the Blitz in 2011 in the northern moun-
tains of western NC. With great facilities and beautiful views, the Eastern 4–H Conference Center served as home
base. NCWRC’s Wildlife Education Staff kicked off the first night of the Bat Blitz with an educational program for
the public. The program, titled “Bats Working the Night Shift” informed attendees on bat biology, behavior, conserva-
tion needs, and highlighted local bats during a night hike in which bat echolocation calls were recorded and identified.
Mist netting surveys were conducted during the following three nights and targeted 28 survey sites in 8 counties, in-
cluding sites on game lands, refuges, state parks, and NCSU experimental forest. Organizers and hosts for this year’s
Bat Blitz were Katherine Etchison (NC Wildlife Resources Commission), Ed Corey (NC Division of Parks and Recre-
ation), Michael Morse (Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge), and Lisa Gatens (NC Museum of Natural Sciences).
A total of 225 bats of 8 species were caught and highlights included the capture of a federally threatened northern long
–eared bat and three species of greatest conservation need: southeastern bat (31), Rafinesque’s big–eared bat (9), and tri
–colored bat (3). Attendance included over 50 participants, which consisted of biologists from state and federal agen-
cies, students, professors, and environmental consultants.