July 2 Field Update



July 2, 2000

	On Bills Creek we established site 12. This is a very pretty (though very tick infested) chunk of stream near the power plant downstream of Nitro. Here we thought things would be hopping, nets set in cover over pools, fairly clean water, no major disturbance, etc. We set a double high, a single high over a nice pool amongst some nice cover, and a single high over an ATV trail corridor for something different. Dave didn't catch (or even really see) any bats all night, though he did get to play with a female cardinal in the double high net for awhile, prevented some ATV people from trashing through a net, and got lots of closeup views of ticks.

		Above: Double high on Bills Creek. The net was in the process of being installed when Dave took a break to play with a cardinal. Left: Having left the rotisserie back at the Allegheny Mountain Tunnel project, we released this lady...not much meat on her anyway. Below: The ATV snare net ready for action. I returned to the puddled jeep trail at site 11. I only saw one bat whip by while dozing on the trail. Walking over to the first net few seconds later I found a rather confused but compliant female big brown just hanging out. On the walk back to the scales, the animal escaped Avinet's holding bag, suggesting that perhaps they should be marketing them as "semi-holding bags". Sigh.