Bats

[MKern]

I have seen this the past few days during fishing.

Bats in the day light. Like 5 pm. (yes they are bats, not swallows or sparrows)

Now I don't think is rabies or anything like that. These bats are obviously feeding on the hatching insects.

I do know that bats have similar eye sight to us during the day.

Is this usual behavior, because I have never seen it?

 

[Wmass]

5pm doesn't seem that unusual BUT it is concerning that they are out during the daylight hours. There is a new disease that apparently has been affecting bats in upstate NY and Vermont that causes them to fly out earlier during the day, become disoriented, and then causes them to starve. It has caused some bat populations in upstate NY and Vermont to collapse. If I were you would report this to the PA Wildlife people.

HERE ARE SOME ARTICLES ON IT:

http://aurmoth.blogspot.com/2008/01/mystery-deaths-in-bats-similar-to.html

http://www.popsci.com/environment/article/2008-03/bat-deaths-baffling-researchers

 

[JustFish]

That's definitely unusual. I was fishing Valley Creek before and a bat was flying right at me 12 in the afternoon. Out of instinct, I swung my rod at it missing it. It then flew away and fell into the stream and I watched it float away untill I couldn't see it anymore.

 

[FishTank]

I've seen bats, 1 or 2 a year, that are out all day when there is a particularly heavy hatch of caddis, this time of year, when fishing some of my haunts on the Lackawanna.

The one was real cool looking, it had yellow lines going down the front of its wings. It was just flit'n around grabbing bugs. Never threatened me. Very cool to watch.

Once May rolled around he was gone and the bats would show after the sun got behing the hills.

 

[2bonthewater]

I have caught 2 bats while fishing and whacked another on a backcast

one bat took a supher spinner off the water--smashed it--it was great until I realized my fly line was up in the air going all over the place

the other took a caddis mid-flight........

both leaders were cut

funny stuff

never been attacked during the day......but they are usually out and about during the evening hours

 

[henrydavid]

I had one take a royal humpy off the water at night, I showed it to a fellow fisherman who wanted to get a look at it and remove the hook, he held the wings and extracted the hook from the poor things chest, in the process he got nipped, darn those things bite, he yelled.

Quite a suprise realizing that your fighting a flying fish, lol.

 

[ian_brown]

I hope the bat wasn't rabid.

 

[henrydavid]

Don't think so, but it was quite PO'd