An important winged link in our local ecosystem is getting a hand up on a few fronts, and not a moment too soon.
Whatever you think of bats — gonzo insect killer or creepy mouse-with-wings thing — they play their part.
But their playgrounds are getting smaller and smaller, and fewer and far between, Couchiching Conservancy biologist Toby Rowland says.
“There is definitely an impact on bats with growing urban centres with their habitats getting fragmented along with the lost feeding and breeding sites over time,” he says. “It is definitely a tricky situation with that kind of urban expansion.”
There is plenty of that in the conservancy’s area, roughly like a horseshoe around lakes Simcoe and Couchiching, from Barrie on one side up to Washago and almost down to Brechin on the other.
Urban development is a big challenge, says Rowland, adding it’s not the only one facing bats.
Between bat habitats giving way to homes and highways, a particularly nasty disease has taken its toll in recent years when white-nose syndrome reared its ugly head in 2006 in North America. It was first detected in Simcoe County in 2011.
White-nose syndrome is a disease that affects hibernating bats and is caused by a fungus.
“The little brown myotis used to be one of the most common species in terms of bats in our area,” Rowland says. “So, in that time period, 10 years or so, they’ve declined up to 90 per cent in some areas.”
So. What’s a bat to do? Hope its human pals come through?
Urban sprawl may be inevitable, but people can start right in their own backyard if they want to help, says Rowland.
“In terms of protecting bats, I know that bat houses can be useful,” he says. “But there are definitely important considerations for people when they do put bat boxes up.
“Bats will only use it if it’s providing exactly what they need. It’s high above the ground; the boxes are usually dark so they absorb a lot of heat; there is nothing within three metres or so around them.”
Rowland says bat houses can be handy when a homeowner is sealing up their house to keep them out.
“They can put up a bat house so they have somewhere to move to, but people can sometimes be disappointed. The bats are still using their walls and not the bat house they put up because they like to go back to the same spot," he says. “Properly sealing a house and then setting up a bat box house (in that order) is the way to go.”
On a larger scale and to the same end, our bat friends recently got some help from the City of Barrie and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry.
This was during the Harvie Road/Big Bay Point Road bridge construction, which began in September 2018. The bridge opened to the public in June 2021.
“There were bats identified in the forest by our consultant and the ministry,” the city’s project manager, Todd Comfort, says. “In 2017, the design/environmental consultant was doing night work looking for bats and taking acoustic recordings. The ministry listened to the recordings and agreed that there was a very low number of species-at-risk bat calls. In addition, the remaining forest — approximately 140 acres — would continue to provide suitable habitat.
“They accepted the city’s offer for 10 bat houses (for the site) to help encourage habitat in the area.”
Another bat bright spot gives pause for hope in the beautifully treed area of The Church Woods nature reserve in nearby Shanty Bay, says Rowland.
That little brown myotis mentioned earlier is an endangered species — like the seven other bat species potentially found in the Couchiching Conservancy’s domain — and is making a comeback surrounded by the urban area of the village.
“That site is actually the one where we’ve had the most little brown bats recorded at any of our sites,” he says proudly. “It goes to show how even small little patches like The Church Woods can sustain a good population of an endangered species.”
Those eight different bats species potentially found in our area are split down the middle when it comes to remaining in Barrie over the winter, says Rowland.
“Four of them will over-winter here and hibernate in buildings and caves and things like that,” he says. “And then there are four who migrate south, usually to the southern States or the Ohio Valley. Some of them remain active, but most do hibernate once they get down there.”
The bat species we are fortunate enough to have in our midst — and in our forests, backyards and farmland — are busy creatures indeed and offer many benefits to agriculture and the environment.
“They have a huge positive impact on agriculture that most people don’t think about,” Rowland says, adding bats munch on insect pests such as beetles and leaf-hoppers. “The amount of insects they eat really reduces the amount of pesticides people use.
“Some bat species can eat up to half their body weight in a night. Usually, that’s only within a couple of hours because they’re only active at dawn and dusk.
“I don’t know how many insects that would be, but they can eat a lot in one go,” he chuckles. “When you think of a whole colony out there, they can finish off a lot of insects.”
While bat houses and nature reserves are a great start, it will take much more to ensure bats and so many other species can co-exist with us, Rowland says, adding keeping forested areas — think Simcoe County Forest tracts on the edge of the Barrie’s southern limits — as intact as possible is Job #1.
“What we’re obviously looking at is trying to protect natural habitat,” he says of the conservancy’s efforts. “One of the most important things to do is protect those kinds of existing natural spaces.
"Because not only do they provide the roosting site, they also provide the feeding sites and then possibly hibernation sites over the winter,” he says of what the forests offer bats.
And they offer us two-legged creatures things, too, he adds.
“Greenspaces make everything better for everyone, for animal species and for people.”
