Kingston Bat Telemetry Field Update



		May 2, 2001
	After another night of trapping, capture numbers are fewer once again. Sixty-two male little browns, 51 females, plus a few pipistrelles and a sole big brown. Three sodalis were captured, all male. Two were captured by 10:00 while the third appeared by 11:30. Trapping ceased at 2:30 AM, as a target capture much later than this will be difficult to process before dawn. Tonight we will continue the vigil in hopes of at least one final run at a female sodalis this year. If captured, our ground tracking will be supplemented with nightly air cover, which we have had on call for nearly a week now. Will another female appear in our trap or are most already gone? Al Hicks with the northerly project has just begun his similar endeavor. He reports only 1/3 or so bats present compared to the usual winter surveys. One cluster of about 25 sodalis contained 22 males...not a good statistic for us at all. As there have been two major disturbances to our site this season (the NY annual winter survey and our assessment just a few days ago), concerns over additional disturbances at our site will likely prevent any additional entry. However, we are blessed with other nearby sodalis sites which could be investigated similarly with permission from NY. And with another week of trapping ahead we will certainly come to our own conclusions.