A Full Moon and Bats - Oh My!
2022 has brought several celestial events to Anguilla’s skies. From Super Moons to planetary alignments, we had not one but two, Total Lunar Eclipses. Unfortunately, clouds obstructed my view of the October eclipse. I was able to witness the May eclipse and take a few photographs.
On December 7, 2022, a flawless sky brought Anguilla a clear view of the “Cold Full Moon” eclipsing Mars. This is known as a Lunar Occultation.
According to Space.com:
“The rare event, known as a lunar occultation, refers to one celestial body — in this case, Mars — appearing to disappear or hide behind another — in this case, the moon. This occultation was particularly noteworthy because Mars was at opposition, meaning Earth was directly between it and the sun, making the Red Planet appear particularly bright in the night sky. “
Not only was tiny Mars bright, but it also appeared red. What a spectacular site!
Meanwhile, I noticed a flurry of activity in the trees in my yard. Were they bats? Indeed they were!
It is not uncommon for me to see bats around the yard. Usually, 1 or 2 whiz past my head as I walk the dog. On this night, my estimated count was around 50. They were present around the entire yard with the majority concentrated on the eastern side.
Did you know that the collective noun for a group of bats is cauldron? They must be flying to earn that noun. So my little group qualified. If this doesn’t conjure up thoughts of witches brewing eye of newt, I don’t know what does!
Although bats are primarily nocturnal, all the literature states that they are inactive on nights with a full moon. This practice helps them to avoid predators. So what was causing them to be active on the 7th? It seems to be a mystery
They were attracted to the Loblolly Trees and two other species containing berries.
With illumination by the moon, I was able to capture video. There was not enough light for a close-up to identify the species. So I decided to see if any research was available on Anguilla’s bat population. I hit paydirt with a paper from 2007 - Bats of Anguilla, Northern Lesser Antilles.
The main species outlined in this paper include:
Antillean fruit-eating bat
Jamaican fruit-eating bat
Mexican funnel-eared bat
Velvety free-tailed bat
Brazilian free-tailed bat
Many years ago, I observed the bats of the Katuche Valley. With the full disclosure that bats are not my forte, I would suggest these are the Antillean fruit-eating bats.
The individuals in the cauldron that I witnessed on the 7th, appeared larger than the bats in the photograph. Exceptionally high winds allowed me to rule out any of the insect-eating species. Therefore, I made an educated guess that they were Jamaican fruit-eating bats. I will leave it to you to view the video and make up your mind.
Although this post leaves the reader with more questions than answers, it has piqued my curiosity. I will continue to monitor the yard for similar events and an opportunity to get a photo of one of the bats. If there are any bat experts out there in the Wild Side News Community, I would love to hear your thoughts.
Here is a brief video of the action.