![]() | WildlifeBats |
Bats at St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) in Florida. Published by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS).
featured in
![]() | Florida Pocket Maps | ![]() |
covered parks
Facts About
St. Marks NWR is home to 9
additional species of bats:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Brazilian
Free-tailed
Bats
Southeastern Bat
Seminole Bat
Eastern Pipistrelle
Hoary Bat
Big Brown Bat
Yellow Bat
Red Bat
Evening Bat
Rafinesque’s Big-Eared Bat
St. Marks
National Wildlife Refuge
Where Wildlife Comes First!
Important things to remember
when observing bats:
Bats are designated by Florida
Statutes Chapter 372 as “NonGame Wildlife” and their habitat
must not be molested or
disturbed by humans.
do not throw any objects at bats
or bat houses or bat barns
Avoid making loud or highpitched noises, as bats are easily
disturbed
Maintain a safe distance
Beware of falling urine and
guano as bats fly overhead
Never pick up a bat on the
ground.
Bats emerge at dusk
—Scott Mitchell
St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge
PO Box 68
St. Marks, FL 32355
850-925-6121
www.fws.gov/saintmarks/
Collecting or taking any plants, animals, or
artifacts from federal lands is prohibited.
A couple of years ago, we discovered that
bats were trying to roost under the Visitors
Center's roof. So we built a bat condo on
the side of the building. The bats moved in
right away and were happy. We were
happy. Unfortunately, bats produce guano
which was adding to the nutrient load in
Plum Orchard Pond. Recently refuge staff
moved the nest to across the street from
the Visitor Brazilian Free-tailed
bats are also called the Mexican
Free-tailed bat and the guano bat.
You might recognize this bat
from that is on a famous rum bottle.
Their name comes from the mouse like
tail, which protrudes freely beyond the
flight membrane that stretches between its
hind quarters. The tail makes up almost
half their length.
Brazilian Free-tailed bats occupy a
wide variety of habitats, such as
limestone caves, abandoned mines,
under bridges, and in buildings and
smaller colonies have been found in
hollow trees. A colony can have
numbers from 50 into the millions.
The largest populations are found
throughout Texas and Mexico
forming colonies in the millions.
Because of their musty odor it is
sometimes possible to smell a colony
downwind from a half a block away.
The bats will forage as far as 25-30
miles from their home at night and
then return each morning before
dawn.
Bats are the only mammal that
truly flies, rather than just glide like
a few other mammals (i.e. flying
squirrel). They also navigate using
echolocation, (the location of objects
using reflected sound). Sounds are
sent out into the environment to
bounce off of nearby objects and
return information by measuring the
amount of time it takes for the sound
wave to return.
Most small mammals have short
life spans. But bats, for their size,
have the longest life span of any
mammal. The life span of a Brazilian
Free-tailed is 8 years.
Our new Bat Commune
In October 2018, Hurricane Michael
removed one of the bat houses from the side
of the Visitors Center and deposited it in
Plum Orchard Pond.
It took us awhile, but we were finally able
to retrieve the house and clean it up. In
February 2019, a new bat housing area was
created across the street from the Visitors
Center.
It meant that the one remaining house had
to be removed from the building and quickly
put up on the new poles. This was a scary
moment, for we did not know what to
expect. Only two bats fell out during the
move and the others stayed put for the
entire process.
How you can help bats
Plant a Bat Garden
Bats eat night flying insects. Bats eat
many garden and agricultural pests,
including cut worm moths, chafer beetles,
potato beetles and spotted cucumber
beetles.
Almost a third of the world’s bats feed
on fruit or nectar of plants. In return for
their meals, these bats are vital
pollinators of countless plants (many of
great economic value) and essential seed
dispersers with a major role in
regenerating rainforests.
If you would like to attract bats to your
garden, you will need to plant flowers
that will attract night pollinators, like
moths, which bats like to eat. Plant
flowers that bloom late in the day or are
night-scented.
Native plant suggestions:
Evening primrose
Phlox
Night flowering Silene (catchfly)
Fleabane
Goldenrod
For more information on Florida’s bats
go to:
https://www.nps.gov/ever/learn/nature
/brazilianfreetailedbat.htm
Selena Kiser gently places the
two bats that fell out of the large
house into a smaller house.