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fruit bats
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Posted by paradisi Sunshine Coast (My Page) on Mon, Feb 6, 06 at 4:20
| the local news paper ran a story yesterday about a couple of thousand fruit bats living near my place see the link below for the story.
The bats moved in across the creek about three weeks ago - firstly there were only a couple of dozen, but this evenings show matched anything I saw in Kakadu - there are now tens of thousnds of them.
I've tried to take some photos - a bit dark and the buggers wouldn't stand still - but you might get an idea of how many there are. It now take more than a half an hour for the "flock" of bats to fly over home.
and if anyone can think of the collective name for a flock of bats - it would stop me from going batty trying to thinkof it :-)
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Here is a link that might be useful: local papers story on the bats
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: fruit bats
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| Do you mean a colony of Bats or a bat colony |
RE: fruit bats
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| If it isn't a Flock....Then it must be a Cloud.. |
RE: fruit bats
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| Colony is correct. Pretty un-exotic for such lovely critters. A Thought of Barons
A Knot of Toads
A Raffle of Turkeys
A Decent of Woodpeckers
A Conspiracy of Ravens
A Company of Parrots
A Smack of Jellyfish
A Murder of Crows
A Dopping of Ducks
A Kettle of Hawks
a Congregation of Plovers It wouldn't let me include a Shower of progeny of unmarried people beginning with B Retirement sucks! Tomorrow I get a life. |
RE: fruit bats
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- Posted by pos02 NSW Aust (My Page) on
Mon, Feb 6, 06 at 16:58
| Looks like my place every night. They always come out 10 minutes after the last bird has roosted for the night, and always fly in the same direction. It is quite amazing. We sit on our front porch and watch them fly over at dusk. |
RE: fruit bats
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| Thats one thing I never got sick of in North Qld,looking at the Flying Fox colony come in at sundown for a feed of local fruit trees and nectar,lovely to watch,greencroc. |
RE: fruit bats
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I can think of a name but it would be unprintable here.
The rotton things eat all my Lychees and Longans way, way before they are anywhwere ripe.
They have multiplied due to human endeavours, in natural state they would not be so prolific.
Quite frankly I hate them, had a sister in law who kept them as pets and even took one into my Father in Laws funeral. Talk about being as 'mad as a bat'.
I have a lot of sympathy with the fruit growers who's livelihood is being ruined by these pests.
Now these comments should stir someone up a bit.
Ian |
RE: fruit bats
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| Ian - I think the bats are going to stir someone up pretty soon - - there's nearly a quarter of a million of them by my reckoning (or there's an aweful lot doing circles over my house). I went up to the top of my street to get a better view last night and the sky was black with bats all the way to the horizon. quite a sight |
RE: fruit bats
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Saw it on TV - awesome. We have maybe 100 colony here, they make enough mess. I heard people had special permission to use hoses to clean off the droppings mess. Smell must be incredible, nature gone mad but we humans have helped cause it.
Actually, Ian, I knew someone like that - fostered foundlings inside her house - eek. I don't mind the ff's they are a very interesting animal but in plague proportions I pity those who have to cope with the dislocations and their seeking new habitats. And of course I have no fruit trees. |
RE: fruit bats
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| I am with you on this one too Ian.. We have cut down two huge Gum trees near the bedroom as the noise was terrible you could never get any sleep and the smell terrible I never knew Fruit Bats liked the flowers or is it the gum nuts they were after. They screech and scream in the Silky Oak tree next door when it is in flower and also prop in the Palm trees on the block at the back... And Alison I agree we humans have cause this problem but how do we fix it.... I am curious where do they get the name Fruit Bat from it was flying foxes when I was young or is that the Common name.... When I lived in Townsville they used to have them at the Billabong Sanctuary so naturally I have had them grasping on to my fingers I will try anything once.. Kind of cute in a batty way, dear little creatures but I did not like the feel of their wings it felt like my leather coat, just wish they would stay out in the wild where they should be..... Cheers..MM. |
RE: fruit bats
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| the reason there are a quarter of a million fruit bats in the middle of caloundra is that too many people have chopped down their native habitat. they've taken up camp at a flora reserve where I'm sure the old bloke who donated the land would be happy to have them. they are called flying foxes because the red faced ones really do look like miniature foxes - they're also called fruit bats to distinguish them from insectivorous bats and they do eat pollen and flowers When I lived in Darwin I had a bedroom almost in the middle of a giant old turpentine mango - and when they were ripe the flying foxes would make a feast of the mangoes. They are almost apelike in their antics and their use of language - after a couple of seasons I could tell which sounds were scolding and which were cajolling and which were used to chat up someone. And if you want fruit bats - head to Mataranka - they have a fly-by of more than ten million bats that takes nearly a fortnight to pass the town. (as for the bats wings MM - they're delicious cooked - especially during the mango season but because they're a protected species - only koories can cook them and offer them to us white fellas) |
RE: fruit bats
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| Yes Paradisi who has caused the problem,greedy farmers doing deals with governments,land developers,to hell with nature and it,s fauna,now that their crops are getting eaten,oh I wonder why,think before they stuff up next time,greencroc. |
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