October 2022
Bats represent one quarter of all mammal species on earth, yet they are widely mis-understood and persecuted. If we look past our prejudices, we see that bats are inextricably linked to the health of our environment and our agricultural systems. Globally they consume huge quantities of crop pests and provide pollination services worth billions of dollars. Locally, bats are busily at work on mosquito control and crop pest reduction, and they ask nothing more than to be left alone to do their work.
Barbara Williams will examine our local bats and the challenges they face. We’ll take a quick tour of the world’s bats and attitudes that people have toward bats in different cultures, look at the risks and benefits of welcoming bats to your landscape, and ways you can accommodate and encourage bats without conflict. The program will include a brief demonstration of a bat detection microphone and recorder that can be used to monitor bat populations.
Barbara Williams is a life-long student of natural history with many years of experience as a birder, photographer, and traveler. She worked in Rockford at Burpee Museum’s biology department for about ten years tending and cataloguing the collections, creating exhibits, and preparing specimens of plants, insects, birds, and mammals. Barbara also monitors dragonflies and bumblebees as part of the Forest Preserves of Winnebago County citizen science program.